*

EU court adviser supports 4.1 billion euro fine against

Google

*

Google appeal against EU antitrust fine likely to be

dismissed

*

Google accused of using Android to suppress rivals since

2011

(Adds Google did not immediately respond to request for

comment, details)

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, June 19 (Reuters) - Alphabet's

Google faced a potential setback on Thursday as an adviser to

Europe's highest court sided with EU antitrust regulators in the

company's fight against a record 4.34 billion euro ($4.98

billion) fine levied seven years ago.

The European Commission in its 2018 decision said Google had

used its Android mobile operating system to block rivals. A

lower tribunal endorsed the EU finding in 2022 but trimmed the

fine to 4.1 billion euros, prompting Google to appeal to

Europe's top court.

Advocate-General at the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of

the European Union (CJEU) Juliane Kokott, in her non-binding

opinion, advised the court to dismiss Google's appeal and

confirm the reduced fine set by the lower tribunal.

"The legal arguments put forward by Google are ineffective,"

she said.

Kokott dismissed Google's argument that regulators should

compare Google with a rival in assessing the situation.

"It is not realistic, in the present case, to compare the

situation of Google with that of a hypothetical as-efficient

competitor. Google held a dominant position in several markets

of the Android-ecosystem and thus benefited from network effects

that enabled it to ensure that users used Google Search," she

said.

Judges, who usually follow four out of five such non-binding

opinions, will rule in the coming months.

"Android has created more choice for everyone and supports

thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the

world," a Google spokesperson said on Thursday.

"We are disappointed with the Opinion which, if it were

followed by the Court, would discourage investment in open

platforms and harm Android users, partners and app developers."

Regulators said Google's illegal practices dated back to

2011, as it required manufacturers to pre-install Google Search

and its Chrome browser together with its Google Play app store

on their Android devices. It paid them to pre-install only

Google Search and blocked them from using rival Android systems.

Google's Android system, which it lets device makers use for

free, runs about 73% of the world's smartphones, according to

Statcounter.

The world's most popular internet search engine has racked

up a total of 8.25 billion euros in fines linked to three

investigations stretching back more than a decade, while other

probes are ongoing.

The case is C-738/22 P Google and Alphabet v Commission.

($1 = 0.8726 euros)