Europe failed on Google



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<img alt = "In a long-awaited decision, the European Commission fined Google 4.3 billion euros for the Alphabet group on Google Wednesday. unfair trade practices.The committee heard some laudable comments because they have set the stage for a tech giant, but if you exclude theatrical performances, the decision is false, prejudicial to consumers and totally inappropriate

Let's start with the alleged infringements. Android software to mobile phone manufacturers.So they want to offer their app store, called Google Play, they also need to install a range of services from other companies, such as search engines and web browsers. all in all, it's a pretty popular exchange: Android is now used in about 80% of the world's smartphones.

The r European eegulators are strong. "These practices have deprived competitors of the opportunity to innovate and compete on the merits," says Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner of Competition. "They have denied European consumers the benefits of effective competition in the important sector of mobile telephony."

This statement is wrong in almost every respect

In the first place, Google does not prevent competition too much. Android users can choose from over 3 million apps in the Play Store, including many alternatives for preinstalled Google products. Perhaps it is true, as Vestager says, that few "users" are curious enough to look for another search application or browser ". But the stimulating curiosity is probably not antitrust work

Blowing over, the decision uses a very narrow concept of competition. Android can be a dominant operating system. But because it's free and open source, it has significantly expanded the range of choices available to consumers. Developers around the world have developed products using Android – including many of the 1.6 million Europeans whose main task is building apps – and they often offer them for free.

All this is based on this original exchange: manufacturers are acquiring a free operating system. Consumers get cheap phones and free apps. And Google gets the data and the dollars from the ad. If the Commission puts obstacles in this cycle, making it more difficult to show ads for Google, the likely outcome is that it will start charging Android – leading to more expensive, less innovative phones and fewer choices for consumers [19659004Lesdégâtsnes&#39;arrêtentpaslàL&#39;unedesfaçonsdontGoogleimposeuncontrôledequalitésurcetécosystèmeinterditauxfabricantsd&#39;utiliserdesversions"split"oupersonnaliséesd&#39;Androids&#39;ilssouhaitentcontinueràproposerdesapplicationsGoogleL&#39;UEveutarrêtercettepratiquedansl&#39;intérêtdelaconcurrenceCependantcelaaffaibliralasécuritéetaggraveraleproblèmedela"fragmentation"oudesincohérencesdansdifférentesversionsd&#39;AndroidCen&#39;estpasnonplusdansl&#ConsumerInterest

The Commission's decision thus lasted about a decade to achieve its stated objectives. Because Google's apps benefit from the impact of the network and the power of Big Data, they improve as they become more popular. And the better, the more people want it. After so many years of sovereignty over Google, few consumers want to avoid its applications and few manufacturers want to make products that exclude them. No interference from European bureaucrats will change this momentum.

By imposing this arbitrary fine, the European Commission threatens to harm consumers, hinder innovation, make life difficult for developers and compromise the security and usability of applications and all this for pursue almost improbable goals. If this solves some problems, it does not explain who.

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