A PYMNTS Company

The Commission’s ‘Next Big Thing’?: Why the Google Case is Not ‘Microsoft Reloaded’

By  |  October 14, 2015

Posted by Social Science Research Network

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The Commission’s ‘Next Big Thing’?: Why the Google Case is Not ‘Microsoft Reloaded’ Torsten Koerber (Georg-August-Universität)

    Abstract: On April 15, 2015 the European Commission sent Google its statement of objections (SO) in the Google Search case with regard to Google Shopping.

    On the same day, it opened investigations against Google with regard to Android. The question of whether the contractual framework of Android licensing violates competition law has been covered in another SSRN article (it does not).

    The following article is aimed at assessing the Commission’s competitive analysis and comparing the Google search case to other EU decisions, in particular to the European Commission’s decisions in the Microsoft cases. This is not an easy task because neither the SO nor Google’s response of August 27, 2015 have yet been published in full.

    The following remarks, therefore, only reflect preliminary thoughts about the sparse information that has been revealed to the public in the Commission’s press releases and Google’s blogs. Based upon this information, the Commission does not seem to have a particularly strong case against Google.