Google has exhausted its legal options in Europe after the European Court of Justice rejected its final appeal regarding a massive antitrust penalty. This ruling upholds a decision originally handed down by the European Commission, ending years of litigation over how the company manages its mobile ecosystem and software distribution.

Regulators originally targeted the company for abusing its dominance within the Android operating system. The European Commission found that Google forced manufacturers to pre-install its own applications, including Google Search and Chrome, to maintain its market position. These requirements effectively blocked rival browsers and search engines from gaining a foothold on mobile devices.

While a lower court previously lowered the penalty from its initial amount, the company must now pay the remaining €4.1 billion. Google maintains that its practices support a free and interoperable Android platform, but the highest court has sided with the regulators. This decision concludes a long-running legal battle regarding mobile software competition.