Google could face another fine by the European Commission when it rules on its dominant postion of its operating system Android.
Reuters report that EU antitrust regulators are weighing another record fine against Google and have set up a panel of experts to give a second opinion on the case, two people familiar with the matter said.
Assuming the panel agrees with the initial case team’s conclusions, it could pave the way for the European Commission to issue a decision against Google by the end of the year. The decision would also impact Google’s Android TV operating system.
Last month, Google had been fined a record €2.42 billion by the European Commission for breaching EU antitrust rules with regards to shopping.
In April 2016, the European Commission has sent a Statement of Objections to Google on Android operating system and applications.
The Commission’s preliminary view is that Google has implemented a strategy on mobile devices to preserve and strengthen its dominance in general internet search. First, the practices mean that Google Search is pre-installed and set as the default, or exclusive, search service on most Android devices sold in Europe. Second, the practices appear to close off ways for rival search engines to access the market, via competing mobile browsers and operating systems. In addition, they also seem to harm consumers by stifling competition and restricting innovation in the wider mobile space.
