Other Web Browsers are Available: The European Commission and Google

The European Commission has sent a Statement to Objections to Google about its behaviour in the smart device and browser markets. How much does this case resemble an earlier case against Microsoft and what other issues should the Commission consider?

On 20th April 2016, the European Commission (EC) sent a Statement of Objections  to Google outlining its view that Google had breached EU antitrust rules by imposing restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators (MNOs). This edition of Hexagon briefly discusses the economics of this case and draws a parallel with the EC case against Microsoft (Case COMP/C-3/37.792) , but also identifies two key differences.

This edition of Hexagon first appeared as a blog post by Richard Cadman available at https://competitionpolicy.wordpress.com/. I am grateful to my colleagues at the UEA Centre for Competition Policy for their comments.