It is a new legal standoff between the European Commission and Google. The appeal proceedings launched by the American giant began Monday before the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg.
The company contests the fine of 4.3 billion euros decided in 2018 by the institution for abuse of a dominant position on its Android operating system. According to Google, innovation on the internet is thus threatened.
What the Commission criticizes Google is for having imposed “contractual restrictions on device manufacturers that make it more difficult for competitors to install search engines and browsers on phones“, explains Alexandre de Cornière, professor at the University of Toulouse 1.
The Commission also accuses the company of having paid major manufacturers and several mobile operators to exclusively pre-install the Google search application on their devices.
A transatlantic convergence
The criticisms against the web giant do not come only from Europe. US President Joe Biden also disputes certain practices. A form of transatlantic alliance seems to be underway in this matter.
“Since the arrival of Joe Biden we have seen many changes, big tech companies are under fire from regulators in the United States and it starts to be more intense in Europe“, specifies Alexandre de Cornière. Washington could even become the standard bearer of this battle against the technological giants, estimates the professor specializing in the digital economy.
Throughout this week of hearing Google should therefore seek to defend its strategic and commercial choices.
Reference-feedproxy.google.com