Breakin' the Google-Android Monopoly: EU Advocate General Backs €4.124 Billion Fine
Advanced legal expert in EU advocates validity of Brussels' multi-billion euro penalty against Google
Get ready for a major shakeup in the tech world! The internet behemoth Google might just have to cough up a whopping €4.124 billion in the EU. The EU's Advocate General, Juliane Kokott, has dropped a bombshell ruling that the Almighty Google abused its mighty Android operating system's dominance for smartphones. In a jaw-dropping turn of events, she recommended that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) shrug off Google's appeals against the fine on Thursday.
Remember, the EU Commission claimed Google for abuse of power back in 2018, equally slapping it with a then-record fine of €4.343 billion. Google obviously wasn't pleased with that money vanishing into thin air and voila, ushered an appeal. The Court of Justice of the European Union mostly seemed to side with the Commission in September 2022, and simply brought down the amount to €4.124 billion. Of course, Google wasn't just going to take that lying down and turned once again to the ECJ.
So, what's all the fuss about? Three troublesome aspects to this Android monopoly have been on trial. First off, smartphone manufacturers had no choice but to pre-install Google-owned apps like the browser Chrome and the Google search engine on all Android devices if they wanted to use Google's Play app store. That's right, no Google, no Play Store.
Second comes the grim news for manufacturers who dared to think independently. If they wanted those precious Play Store licenses, they had to ensure their devices were purely Android-powered. No room for alternatives, my friends! And third on the menu was a sneaky deal that saw Google share only a portion of its advertising revenues if mobile device manufacturers and network operators agreed not to pre-install a competing search engine on a certain range of devices.
However, Google has since stopped the unsavory practices post-Commission's decision. Still, don't count on it bothering Google much as it's not giving up on its fight against the hefty bill. Advocate General Kokott's final arguments have left little hope for success for Google. She's accused the company of a sneaky "strategy" aimed at maintaining its market dominance, and the ECJ judges usually toe her line.
The ruling concerns one of a trilogy of major legal battles between the EU Commission and either Google or its parent company Alphabet. The Advocate General's opinion may not be legally binding, but it carries considerable influence, and we'll have to wait for the final judgment from the judges of the Court of Justice. Keep your eyes peeled for that!
[Source: ntv.de, AFP]
Extra Insights:
- The EU Advocate General's ruling offers a critical view of Google's anticompetitive practices in Android, upholding the prior rulings by the EU Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
- The fine is part of a larger EU crackdown on Big Tech giants, with Google being slapped with over €8 billion in antitrust penalties over the past decade.
- Google has been accused of using anticompetitive contractual restrictions to maintain its dominant position in search and reduce consumer choice.
- Google's fight against the fine, should the ECJ uphold the ruling, may discourage investment in open-source platforms like Android, potentially affecting users, app developers, and partners.
Sources: [1], [2], [3], [4]
- The European Union's Advocate General, Juliane Kokott, suggested that Google's practices in the android market violate industry competition rules, as smartphone manufacturers were required to pre-install Google-owned apps, limiting business opportunities in the finance sector.
- The Advocate General's ruling against Google highlights the potential impact of employment policies within the EC countries, as the case involves anticompetitive practices that restrict employment opportunities for app developers and partners in the business sector.
