International Communication
Google Antitrust
Name: 陸若璽 (Gabriela)
Student ID: 405555094
Department: International Business/ 3 year.
Historical sanction of the EU to Google for Android: 4,340 million euros for excess dominant position.
Brussels has just published its most forceful sanction to Google: 4,340 million euros. The European Commission has imposed this record sanction on the gigantic American technology due to the excess of the dominant position that it exercises, according to its consideration, through Android, its mobile operating method. Record punishment in an antitrust case.
The process that has controlled Android had been terminated after several years of work. It was in April 2015 when the Commission properly opened the investigation to consider that Google requires manufacturers to pre-install applications owned by the company, Google Search and Chrome, on their phones with this operating system.
One search ends and another begins. The European Commission not only recently announced the formal charges filed against Google for excessive dominance with its search engine but also officially opened an investigation to corroborate whether Google, with Android, has taken part in "anti-competitive agreements" and "excess dominant position ". Why does the Commission believe that this can be the case? According to they explain, the totality of manufacturers of telephones and tablets use Android-like operating system in composition with some proprietary applications of Google. "In order to achieve the rights to install these applications and services on their Android devices, manufacturers have to reach agreements with Google", and it is precisely these agreements that they want to know more thoroughly to see what terms have been produced
What the European Commission will investigate
In the official communiqué, the European Union mentions the following three points that we simply translate below:
-"If Google has illegally hindered the development and access to the market of mobile applications or rivals' services by forcing or encouraging the manufacturers of smartphones and tablets to pre-install exclusively Google's own applications and services."
-"If Google has prevented manufacturers of smartphones and tablets, who want to install Google applications and services on their Android devices, develop and promote modified and potentially competing versions of Android (the so-called" Android forks ") in other services , thus illegally obstructing the development and access to the market of rival mobile operating systems and mobile applications or services. "
-"If Google has illegally hindered the development and access to the market of rival applications and services by making" bundles "of Google applications and distributed services on Android devices with other Google applications, services and / or application interfaces of Google Google."
In short: what the Commission wants to know is whether Google forces manufacturers to pre-install their applications against those of the competition, if it requires pre-install packs and if it is putting problems to the manufacturers who are encouraged with their own modified versions of Android .
Google's response to the EU
In addition to the points we cited yesterday from an internal statement before the investigation was formally opened (has created variety of choice, is open source, what they pay developers, etc.), and in the official note that Google has presented later on, the giant search engine explains that the Commission has asked them questions about their agreements with their partners and answers these points with their own allegations, which we quote literally below:
-"It is important to remember that this is voluntary, again, it is possible to use Android without Google, although it offers real benefits to Android users, developers and the ecosystem in general."
-"Our apps distribution agreements ensure that people enjoy a wonderful" immediate "experience with useful apps directly from the device's home. This helps Android device manufacturers compete with Apple, Microsoft and other mobile ecosystems that are already loaded with similar apps. "
-"We remember that these distribution agreements are not exclusive and that Android manufacturers install their own apps and also apps from other companies, compared to Apple - the most profitable telephone (mobile) company in the world - there are many less Google apps pre-installed on Android phones than Apple apps on iOS devices. "
-"Apps that compete directly with Google such as Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft Office and Expedia, are easily available to Android users, many of these apps are preloaded on Android devices, in addition to Google apps." The recent Samsung S6 is A good example of this, since it includes installed apps from Facebook, Microsoft and Google. "
In summary: Google considers that its applications improve the "immediate" experience of the user with Android and that the agreements reached with the manufacturers are similar to those of other mobile operating systems. As an example that they are not against their competition, they explain that Android terminals come with apps from people like Microsoft or Facebook.