Un-FRAND-ly Use of Content and Data and Other Abuses of Intermediation Power: The German Competition Probes into Google’s Ecosystem

10 Pages Posted: 8 Apr 2022

See all articles by Thomas Hoppner

Thomas Hoppner

Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau; Hausfeld RA LLP

Philipp Westerhoff

Hausfeld RA LLP

Date Written: February 28, 2022

Abstract

On 30 December 2021, the German Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartel Office, “FCO”) designated Alphabet Inc., parent company of Google, (“Google”) as an ‘undertaking of paramount significance for competition across markets’. The FCO is now considering whether to prohibit particular anti-competitive practices, including Google’s collection and use of valuable content and data such as in the context of the global licensing program "Google News Showcase". This may mark the first use of antitrust law to address the interwoven competition concerns arising from the control over an entire ecosystem, as compared to the traditional market-by-market analysis. This article outlines the background to the investigation, its key topics and possible policy lessons to be learned, potentially both in the EU and the U.S. In particular, it provides a preliminary assessment of the "Google News Showcase" which the authors consider as an abuse of dominance of unprecedented scope, and a very serious threat to a free and pluralistic press.

Keywords: antitrust, competition law, digital markets, Google, gatekeepers, intermediation power, FRAND, press publishers, Google News Showcase, disintermediation, ecosystems

JEL Classification: K21, L12, L41, L86, M37, 031

Suggested Citation

Höppner, Thomas and Westerhoff, Philipp, Un-FRAND-ly Use of Content and Data and Other Abuses of Intermediation Power: The German Competition Probes into Google’s Ecosystem (February 28, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4044911 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4044911

Thomas Höppner (Contact Author)

Technical University of Applied Sciences Wildau ( email )

Hochschulring 1
Wildau, 15745
Germany

Hausfeld RA LLP ( email )

Walter-Benjamin Platz 6
Berlin, 10629
Germany

Philipp Westerhoff

Hausfeld RA LLP ( email )

Kurfürstendamm 218
Berlin, 10719
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.hausfeld.com

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