Google loses appeal in $4 billion European court battle over Android dominance
Business InsiderNov 25, 2022
EU Court Upholds Antitrust Ruling Against Google
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The Facts
On Wednesday, a top European court rejected an appeal from Google for a ruling that found the tech giant broke competition rules. However, the judges did reduce the fine issued by antitrust regulators for the violations from 4.34B euros to 4.125B euros ($4.13B).
The ruling is a major setback for the company, which was found to have reduced consumer choice through its dominance of the company's mobile Android operating system.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Europe is once again meddling in the free market success of American companies by imposing this fine. Google has worked to bring transparency to programmatic advertising and to help advertisers reach customers, but their triumph in the market is being deliberately targeted.
Establishment-critical narrative
Big tech isn't being unfairly targeted for its success just so European regulators can edge in their own companies - the sector is using amoral and cynical tactics to sit on a pile of ever-growing gold at the cost of true competition. Companies like Google must remember that laissez-faire isn't synonymous with monopolistic business practices.
Nerd narrative
There is a 50% chance that the US will break up Meta Platforms after Jan 1, 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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