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It's no secret that Google is ready for another round of tough antitrust fines.
The decision could come as early as 18 July, judging by the gaping hole in the European Commission's calendar the week following the visit of US President Donald Trump to Brussels.
But if the size of the penalty will make the headlines – after the fine of 2.4 billion pounds (RM11.32bil) last year – the most lasting impact could to be a dispute over how Google should respond to concerns about its Android mobile operating system.
Google will probably tell the European Union to change the way it manages its mobile phone business, according to people close to the case who have asked not to be named because the process is not easy. not public. This will force the Alphabet Inc unit to interpret what it should do to bring more competition, they said. Regulators have not had substantial discussion with Google about how it should address concerns, according to two people.
Adding to the uncertainty over how it should comply with an order, the search engine operator should challenge any conclusion of the EU against Android in the courts of the United States. EU, the only way to make a decision of the Commission. He may request to suspend an order from the EU on Android until the appeal process is completed, which could take years, according to one of the people.
The announcement of the EU could be made around July 18th, according to one of the people. This is the date of one of the four meetings of EU commissioners this month – where they usually approve important decisions. Regulators could avoid engaging in a trade dispute with the United States by imposing a fine on one of the largest US companies on July 4th, Independence Day or July 11th, when President Trump will attend a NATO summit.
Google and the commission declined to comment on the timing or content of the Android decision.
Google built a huge business of banner ads and videos, largely because of its central role on Android devices. According to research firm eMarketer, Google will account for one-third of all global mobile advertising in 2018, which will bring the company approximately $ 40 billion (RM 161.86bil) in sales outside the United States. The company risks losing traction if it is forced to sell its real estate on millions of Android phones.
"Consumers are fundamentally excluded from competition in the mobile search market," said Agustin Reyna of the BEUC European Consumer Organization in Brussels. "Because companies trying to enter the markets where Google dominates would find it very difficult to compete because they would not be able to match the amount of data that Google holds."
Booklets loaded
The EU claims that Google's contracts with device makers may unfairly force a set of Google services – search, maps, web browser and e -mail – to charge on phones using the Android operating system. Android runs on 77% of the world's smartphones, according to the StatCounter web traffic badysis firm. The EU case also targets agreements with phone manufacturers and telecom operators who pay for placing Google Search on devices.
An order would likely force Google to remove or renegotiate contracts, opening the way for pre-installation of competing applications on devices, which could erode revenue generated by mobile ads.
"By forcing Google to offer alternatives, its dominant advertising position would be weakened," said Roger Entner, an badyst at Recon Analytics LLC. "This would put Google's mobile advertising empire on a par with the rest of the industry."
Business model
Google has already stated that it would argue that the EU is wrong and that it does not prevent users or manufacturers of phones to install other applications. In his view, an EU decision will hurt application developers and customers by reducing Google's business model of distributing Android software and generating revenue through mobile advertising. This keeps the prices of smartphones low, he says.
Meanwhile, Google seems to offer its rivals a better offer in search advertising, but the EU antitrust leader believes that it is too early to say whether the giant of the search engines did more fines. .
The EU told Google last June to design its own changes to provide "equal treatment" in commercial advertisements.
There has been a "steady increase" in the number of competing products appearing in search advertising, European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager told Members of the European Parliament last month. – Bloomberg
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