European justice will set the tone this Wednesday in the EU's fight against Gafam.
It will indeed decide on the validity of a record fine of 4.3 billion euros imposed by Brussels on Google for having abused the dominant position of its Android operating system.
The EU court, based in Luxembourg, must publish a judgment at first instance at 9:30 a.m. in order to confirm, annul or modify the sanction imposed on the American Internet giant by the European Commission in 2018. Brussels notably accuses Google of forcing manufacturers of phones and tablets using its operating system to pre-install its search engine and Chrome browser to eliminate competitors.
The Android system is used on approximately 80% of mobile devices in the world.
Google points the finger at Apple
The California group, for its part, considers the accusation unfounded and demands the cancellation of this fine, the highest ever decided by the competition authority in Brussels.
He believes that the EU has wrongly ignored competitor Apple, which favors its own services, such as the Safari browser, on its iPhones.
“We are going to explain that (…) the Commission has turned a blind eye to the real competitive dynamics of this sector, that which opposes Apple and Android”, explained the group's lawyer during a hearing last year.
Google further stressed that downloading competing apps was a click away and that customers were under no obligation to use its products on Android.
However, Wednesday's decision should not close this dispute, which began in 2015 with the opening of proceedings by the European Commission after several complaints from competitors.
Both parties will indeed have the possibility of appealing to the Court of Justice of the EU, the highest European court.
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Gafa
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