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ARTICLE · 25 JULY 2018

European Commission: Fines Google Record € 4.34 Billion For Abusing Market Power (Android)

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The European Commission has fined Google € 4.34 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules (18 July 2018).

European UnionAntitrust/Competition Law
Sascha Dethof
Sascha Dethof

The European Commission has fined Google € 4.34 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules (18 July 2018). According to the findings of the Commission, Google has imposed illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to cement its dominant position in general internet search.

Illegal Behaviour

Google has used Android – according to the Commission - as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine. In particular Google

  • has required manufacturers to pre-install the Google Search app and browser app (Chrome), as a condition for licensing Google's app store (the Play Store);
  • made payments to certain large manufacturers and mobile network operators on condition that they exclusively pre-installed the Google Search app on their devices; and

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