Randy Picker: "Why the EU is Going After Google and Not Apple"

Why the EU is Going After Google and Not Apple

On April 20th, 2016, the European Commission announced that its year-long investigation of Android had led it to believe that Google might be violating European Union antitrust laws. The Commission issued a statement of objections to Google and Alphabet (Google’s parent company), launching a formal antitrust case against them, along with a brief public statement that represents the best window into what is going on.

The EU believes that Google holds a dominant position in three related markets, and that it is using that position to distort competition. The EU claims that Google limits access to key aspects of the Android ecosystem by insisting that phone makers install Google search and Chrome apps. The EU also said that Google blocks phone makers from producing phones that run alternative versions of Android (a so-called anti-fragmentation agreement barring firms from using Android forks). Finally, the EU also believes that Google has illegally paid device makers and mobile phone companies to preinstall Google search exclusively.

The new EU case tries to regulate the general search market but is also a dispute about how to think about openness in platform markets. Google argues that Android is open-source and that means that anyone can build whatever flavor of Android they want. Google would say that makes competition possible in the Android ecosystem — and oh, by the way Europe, go look at Apple’s world, where there is zero competition on operating systems or handsets. Why, Google would argue, are you bothering us and not Apple?

Read more at The Verge