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The Italian antitrust authority said on Thursday that it imposed a fine of €102 million ($123 million) on Google for abuse of a dominant position through its Android mobile operating system and app store Google Play.
- “Google has a dominant position which allows it to control the reach app developers have on final users,” the regulator said in a statement.
- The ruling condemns the company for not allowing drivers of electric cars who need to recharge their vehicles to use JuicePass, an electric-vehicle services app from Italy’s Enel X, to operate on Android Auto, which favors Google Maps.
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The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato warned that Google’s
GOOGL,
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“contested conduct can influence the development of e-mobility in a crucial phase…with possible negative spillover effects on the spreading of electric vehicles.” - As part of the ruling, Google will have to authorize Juice Pass on Android.
- A company spokesperson told the Ansa news service that the company didn’t agree with the decision and will examine it in detail before deciding on the next steps.
Read: EU court says Amazon was wrongly ordered to pay $300 million in back taxes
The outlook. Yet another chapter in the permanent struggle of European authorities to curb the anticompetitive practices of big internet multinationals. The fine imposed by Italian authorities amount to less than 0.3% of Google parent company Alphabet’s operating profit in 2020.
