In a regulatory filing, Google said that its Google Play Store is the target of an EU antitrust investigation. This may attract another billion-euro fine for the U.S. tech giant.
Google has already incurred 8.25 billion euros ($8.24 billion) in EU antitrust fines following three investigations into its business practices.
"In May 2022, the EC (European Commission) and the CMA (Britain's Competition and Markets Authority) each opened a formal investigation into Google Play's business practices," Google said in a quarterly earnings filing dated Oct. 25.
EU antitrust regulators are investigating whether Google's threat to remove apps from its Play Store if app developers use other payment options instead of its own billing system has hurt the developers, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters in August.
Developers have criticised the fees charged by Google and Apple at their mobile app stores. They feel the charges are excessive.
Separately, Google said that it will appeal its record 4.1-billion-euro EU antitrust fine at Europe's top court after a lower tribunal threw out its challenge last month.
The Luxembourg-based General Court broadly backed the Commission's 2018 decision but pruned the fine to 4.125 billion euros from 4.34 billion euros.
Judges agreed with the European Union competition watchdog that Google had imposed unlawful restrictions on manufacturers of Android mobile devices and mobile network operators to consolidate the dominant position of its search engine.
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