Google Android: Record-Breaking Fine on Anti-Competitive Practices under Article 102 TFEU

Abstract

Commentators have been waiting for the Google II decision since mid-summer. The present contribution is based solely on the revelations in the European Commission’s press release. It concerns the anti-competitive tying, the exclusivity requirements, the market-foreclosure test, and consumer harm, as evidenced by unconscious bias and the lock-in effect, as well as the limited scope for an efficiency defense under Article 102 TFEU. With this decision, the Commission does not create a new precedent, but adds to its existing decisions on anti-competitive tying and exclusivity payments. If there is anything unprecedented, it is the level of the fine imposed on Google.

Keywords: competition law, antitrust, abuse of a dominant position, Google Android