Rivals claim that Google employs Android as a covert vehicle, or Trojan horse, to achieve dominance in the mobile sector.
The European Commission (EC) has taken a firm stance against Google, accusing the tech giant of exploiting its market dominance in the Android mobile ecosystem and alleged abuses of dominance in mobile advertising.
The EC's investigation, which began in 2010 over Google's web search practices, has now expanded to cover Google's mobile practices. In May last year, the EC identified four concerns where Google's business practices may be considered as abuses of dominance. These include displaying links to its own 'vertical' search products, such as Shopping, in web search results, copying content from competing 'vertical' search services, search advertising agreements with partners requiring "de facto exclusivity", and the portability of ad campaigns from Google's AdWords to other platforms.
Google's initial proposed changes were rejected by the EC, and it proposed some more, as yet undisclosed, changes earlier this year. In response to the Commission's pressure, Google has offered to modify its Play Store terms, allowing developers to direct users to make purchases outside of Google Play via their websites and introducing an alternative fee structure for developers.
However, Google expressed concerns that these changes might expose users to harmful content and degrade the app experience. Despite these concerns, Google proceeded with updates following discussions with the Commission.
The EC’s stance is firm, warning that compliance is Google's responsibility, and future enforcement actions, including significant penalties, remain possible if Google fails to meet its obligations.
Google's Android mobile operating system has a 70% share of the mobile operating system market, and the company reportedly has a 96% share of the mobile search advertising market. The EC's action against Google is aimed at curbing alleged exploitative practices in mobile advertising and app distribution, with Google controlling more than 90% of Android app downloads and dictating key conditions for developers and users.
The complaint against Google was filed by FairSearch, a lobbying group dedicated to campaigning against Google. Microsoft, Nokia, and Oracle are among the backers of FairSearch. FairSearch's legal counsel, Thomas Vinje, has stated that they are asking the European Commission to protect competition and innovation in the mobile market.
Google's response to FairSearch's complaint about mobile practices was that "we continue to work cooperatively with the European Commission". The EC's investigation into Google's web search practices is ongoing.
Regulators remain vigilant, with the Commission’s stance being that compliance is Google's responsibility, and future enforcement actions, including significant penalties, remain possible if Google fails to meet its obligations. Google has faced related, separate fines elsewhere, such as an Aus$55 million (US$36 million) penalty in Australia for anti-competitive search engine pre-installation deals on Android devices, showing intensified global regulatory scrutiny of Google’s mobile practices.
[1] European Commission Press Release: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_21_3754 [2] The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/22/22685580/google-play-store-app-developers-purchase-links-eu-commission [3] Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/australia-fines-google-36-million-over-android-search-deal-2021-09-21/ [4] TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/22/google-to-make-concessions-on-play-store-fees-and-app-steering-to-avoid-fines-under-eus-digital-markets-act/ [5] The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/22/google-to-make-concessions-on-play-store-fees-and-app-steering-to-avoid-fines-under-eus-digital-markets-act
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