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The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce, through a statement, explained why Google could have suffered the failure that cost the heaviest economic penalty imposed by the European Commission (EC) in the # 39; history.
On Wednesday, the EC said the California giant should cancel $ 4,342 (about $ 5,000 million) to "impose illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to consolidate its dominant position in the general Internet research services. "
Explanation of CIS
To understand the case in question, it is important to keep in mind that, when Google is developing a new version of the Android OS, publishes the source code online, which indicates the steps or instructions to be followed by the application developer and the manufacturer of the Device to make your product compatible with the mentioned operating system. In the case of Android source code, this includes the basic functionality of a smart mobile operating system, not Google's exclusive Android applications and services. In order to obtain these, the EC found that device manufacturers and large mobile network operators were required to sign contracts with Google in which a series of restrictions on competition were imposed, which allowed the company to operate on the Internet. American company to consolidate its dominant position. In this regard, the Commissioner for Competition Policy of the EC, Margrethe Vestager, said on this subject: "Today, the mobile Internet accounts for more than half of the world traffic. d & # 39; Internet. This has changed the lives of millions of Europeans. The problem in question concerns three types of restrictions imposed by Google on Android device manufacturers and network operators to ensure that traffic on Android devices is directed to the search engine. These practices have deprived their competitors of the opportunity to innovate and compete on their merits, preventing European consumers from benefiting from effective competition in an area as important as mobile. This is illegal under the antitrust rules of the EU.
In light of the above, the EC's decision concludes that (i) Google has forced manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and the Chrome browser as a condition of 39; licensing for your store Play Store Apps; (ii) you made payments to some manufacturers and mobile network operators provided that they preinstalled only the Google Search app on their devices and; (iii) prevented manufacturers wishing to preinstall applications from Google's mobile smart devices running alternative operating systems on Android not approved by Google.
Similarly, the EC concludes in its decision that Google holds a dominant position in the general Internet search markets, licensed smart mobile operating systems, and retail stores. applications for the Android mobile operating system. In view of the above, considering (i) that Google has market shares of more than 90% in most of the Member States of the European Economic Area (EEA); (ii) there are significant barriers to entry for the markets in question; (iii) that Google, through its control over Android, occupies a dominant position in the global (excluding China) market for intelligent mobile operating systems with licenses with market shares greater than 95%, explained mainly by economists they usually include network effects: "the more users use a smart mobile operating system, the more developers prepare applications for this system, which in turn attracts more and more." 39; users. In addition, considerable resources are needed to develop a smart mobile operating system with a successful license "(European Commission, 2018); and (iv) finally, that Google holds a dominant position in the worldwide market (excluding China) of the application stores for the Android mobile operating system, Play Store, which accounts for more than 90% of downloaded applications on these devices.
Imposed Sanction
According to the EC, dominant position per se does not constitute a violation of the antitrust rules of the European Union . However, the abuse of this position restricts free economic competition to the detriment of not only other competitors in the market, but also affects consumers of badociated products and services.
In this manner, the EC has identified that Google, in order to consolidate its dominant position in general internet search, incurred in three different illegal practices since 2011, such as was presented in the previous lines:
1. Illegal linking of Google search and navigation applications.
2. Illegal payments for the exclusive pre-installation of Google search.
3. Illegal obstruction to the development and distribution of competitive Android operating systems
Thus, in accordance with the 2006 Guidelines of the CE on fines and based on the value of Google's earnings from search engine advertising services on Android devices in the EEA, the duration and severity of the infringement, the EC has inflicted a penalty of 4.34 billion euros (4.342 million euros or about 5,000 million dollars).
Similarly, the decision requires Google to effectively terminate its unlawful conduct within a maximum of 90 days from the date of delivery. Likewise, it will be required to periodically inform the EC of the manner in which it will comply with the decision and will have to deal with claims for damages which may be brought before the courts of the Member States by any person or by concerned by these practices. anticompetitive.
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