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ARTICLE · 13 JULY 2015

The EC v Google: A Lesson For Great And Small

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This article discusses some of the issues, and draws out from them some lessons that are important for any business wary of the long reach of EU competition law.

European UnionAntitrust/Competition Law
Jonathan Cornthwaite
Jonathan Cornthwaite

The recent announcement of the European Commission's preliminary view that Google's favourable treatment of its comparison shopping service abused its dominant position in the general internet search market has prompted a flurry of commentaries by pundits. But the legal background to this remarkable development also deserves analysis. This article discusses some of the issues, and draws out from them some lessons that are important for any business wary of the long reach of EU competition law.

What is going on?

The trail of gunpowder that led to the announcement can be traced back at least to 2010, when the European Commission announced that it had instituted proceedings against Google under Article 102, the much-feared provision of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union that prohibits abuse of a dominant position.  The institution of the proceedings was prompted by a flurry of complaints made by Google's rivals, ranging from the way that Google's

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