Google has been handed a European Union fine of €4.1 billion (£3.5bn) following an eight-year battle for using its Android mobile operating system to block rivals.

Back in 2018 then European Union competition chief Margrethe Vestager announced a €4.3bn fine following a 39-month investigation which found the search engine giant was breaking EU antitrust laws by forcing Android phone and tablet manufacturers to pre-install its search app and Chrome browser.

It was also accused of making payments to manufacturers and mobile network operators that agreed to exclusively pre-install the search app on their devices, and of preventing manufacturers from selling smart devices powered by alternative versions of Android.

Google appealed and the fine was reduced slightly to €4.1 bn in 2022. A further appeal has now been dismissed.