Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Vestager wins historic battle in record Google case

Vestager wins historic battle in record Google case

The EU’s competition chief racks up a much-needed victory after a pair of stinging losses in court.

Margrethe Vestager badly needed a win to vindicate her fight against antitrust abuses in the EU — and she got one.

The EU General Court on Wednesday sided with the European Commission on a record-breaking fine against Google for its abuses in the mobile market. The decision is a relief for Executive Vice President Vestager and a much-needed turnaround for the bloc’s competition enforcers, who had faced two devastating losses in Luxembourg earlier this year in cases against Intel and Qualcomm.

The General Court “largely confirms the Commission’s decision that Google imposed unlawful restrictions” on both Android device manufacturers and mobile network operations in its pursuit of search-engine market dominance, the court wrote in its ruling.

The fine — despite being reduced to €4.125 billion from the Commission’s original €4.34 billion fine — marks the costliest penalty a company has ever faced for anticompetitive behavior in the EU.

Speaking in Strasbourg on Wednesday, Vestager called the judgment a “pretty big” result for the Commission and said it “speaks highly of the work done” by her antitrust enforcers in Brussels.


Road to the ruling


Deep into her second mandate in Brussels, Vestager is gaining ground in her antitrust crusade against Google — which has now racked up more than €8 billion in penalties — to the acclaim of those involved in the cases.

“The judgment marks the single most paramount legal defeat in the company history of Google,” said Thomas Höppner, counsel to several parties who intervened in the case and a partner at Hausfeld law firm. “It goes to the heart of Google’s ecosystem, by tearing down some of the walls Google has built around its cash-cow search service to shield it from competition.”

“The European Commission got it right,” added Thomas Vinje, a lawyer who has been working on the case since his client FairSearch filed the original complaint in 2013. “Google can no longer impose its will on phone makers,” he said in emailed comments.

The European Commission filed the €4.34 billion penalty in 2018 for three types of contracts Google had signed with mobile operators and phone manufacturers in an effort to dominate the mobile search market.

The agreements, those involved in the case said, served to squeeze rivals out of the market and solidified Google’s dominant position in search services.

“Many European consumers had no alternative to using Google’s search engine and Google’s browser Chrome on their mobile devices,” said Monique Goyens, director general of the EU consumer organization BEUC, a party in the case against Google.

The agreements, those involved in the case said, served to squeeze rivals out of the market and solidified Google’s dominant position in search services


The EU General Court backed the Commission’s findings in two of those contracts, which forced smartphone-makers to carry Google’s search and browser systems and avoid installing alternatives to the Android operating system. Regarding the third contract — exclusivity payments between Google and mobile firms — the Luxembourg judges said the Commission was wrong to claim it constituted an abuse of dominance in itself.

The EU General Court’s ruling trimmed about 4 percent off the Commission’s original fine, in line with findings from the court in the Intel and Qualcomm cases.

In response to the ruling, the Commission said it “would carefully study the judgment and decide on next steps.” From the opposing side, a Google spokesperson said the company was “disappointed that the court did not annul the decision in full.” Google can still appeal the ruling before the European Court of Justice.


Betting on the Digital Markets Act


Brussels was so confident of its case against Google that it included rules derived from the Android case — including restrictions on pre-installing software and obligations to offer consumers more choices — in the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is set to enter the EU’s rulebook in October.

“This is a key victory for the Commission in itself, and the more so in the run-up to the launch of the Digital Markets Act,” said Alec Burnside, partner and head of the antitrust practice at Dechert LLP in Brussels, who also represents parties against Google in other cases.

Burnside added the judgment could prove influential when designating which services fall within the scope of the DMA, a process set to take place in mid-2023.

Members of the European Parliament on Wednesday also touted the forthcoming DMA rules’ ability to stop Big Tech’s abuses — such as the ones identified in the Android case — at the source.

“Competition procedures, including all their appeal procedures, take far too long. For Google alone, there are multiple cases pending,” said MEP Markus Ferber, coordinator for the European People’s Party group in Parliament’s economy committee. “With the Digital Markets Act, authorities will soon have instruments at hand that work more quickly but are equally effective.”

The Commission is nonetheless steeling itself in preparation for a new horizon in the bloc’s battles with Big Tech. Already, lawyers are briefing some of the world’s largest digital firms on where they could pick holes in the DMA’s rules.

“There will be litigation, no doubt,” said the European Commission’s Gerard de Graaf recently. De Graaf is a longtime bureaucrat involved in the DMA who was recently dispatched to San Francisco in a new role involving compliance talks with Big Tech firms. “We are prepared for litigation, but we would like a constructive discussion with the platforms rather than an adversarial discussion.”

The EU’s next bruising scuffles may loom ever closer but, for now, Vestager stands triumphant and Google is considering how best to respond to its Wednesday court loss. Should it appeal, it has until October 24 to do so.

The case number for the Google Android judgment is T-604/18.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Man Convicted of Fraud After Booking Over 120 Free Flights Posing as Flight Attendant
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Beata Thunberg Rebrands as Beata Ernman Amidst Sister's Activism Controversy
Hungarian Parliament Approves Citizenship Suspension Law
Prime Minister Orbán Criticizes EU's Ukraine Accession Plans
Hungarian Delicacies Introduced to Japanese Market
Hungary's Industrial Output Rises Amid Battery Sector Slump
President Sulyok Celebrates 15 Years of Hungarian Unity Efforts
Hungary's Szeleczki Shines at World Judo Championships
Visegrád Construction Trends Diverge as Hungary Lags
Hungary Hosts National Quantum Technology Workshop
Hungarian Animation Featured at Annecy Festival
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
UK and EU Reach New Economic Agreement
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Austrian School Shooting Leaves Nine Dead in Graz
Bezos's Lavish Venice Wedding Sparks Local Protests
Europe Prepares for Historic Lunar Rover Landing
Italian Parents Seek Therapy Amid Lengthy School Holidays
British Fishing Vessel Seized by France Fined €30,000
Dutch Government Collapses Amid Migration Policy Dispute
UK Commits to 3.5% GDP Defence Spending Under NATO Pressure
Germany Moves to Expedite Migrant Deportations
US Urges UK to Raise Defence Spending to 5% of GDP
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Low Turnout Jeopardizes Italy's Citizenship Reform Referendum
Transatlantic Interest Rate Divergence Widens as Trump Pressures Powell
EU Lawmaker Calls for Broader Exemptions in Supply Chain Legislation
France's Defense Spending Plans Threatened by High National Debt
European Small-Cap Stocks Outperform U.S. Rivals Amid Growth Revival
Switzerland Proposes $26 Billion Capital Increase for UBS
×