In a decision issued on January 5, 2022, the Bundeskartellamt (the German antitrust regulator) recognised the “Google’s domination on all markets”. This is the first decision of this type and she paves the way for antitrust interventions over the next five years. With this unexpected verdict, the German antitrust is ahead of the European Commission.
The Bundeskartellamt raises its tone against Google
If this decision vis-à-vis Google is the first of its kind, the Bundeskartellamt is currently leading similar proceedings against Meta, Amazon and Apple. These three other American giants could well meet the same fate as Google in the coming months. Following this verdict, the German antitrust grants itself the right to call Google to order during the next five years. In its press release, the Bundeskartellamt states that “Google enjoys a capital dominant position and is detrimental to competition in the markets within the meaning of Paragraph 19a (1) of the GWB (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen)”.
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Concretely, the German antitrust believes that the company enjoys a position of economic strength such that competition no longer even has the expected regulatory effect. The regulator’s assessment took into account Google’s dominant market share in the Search sector (more than 80% in Germany), its dominant position in the online advertising market, its role as an intermediary as the owner of YouTube and the Play Store on Android, or even its access to the data of billions of users from Google. Not to mention its market capitalization, which according to the Bundeskartellamt is “One of the highest in the world and reflects the significant financial power of Google”.
Are the increasingly active European antitrust authorities?
Now that this investigation has been completed, the regulator will be able to take immediate action against any identified anti-competitive behavior. According to Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, since January 2021 the regulator has had a “New instrument to monitor large digital companies” and to enforce the law. It is precisely thanks to this device that Google’s dominant position has been recognized. For its part, Google says it is ready to “Work constructively with the German regulator to find solutions that allow people and businesses in Germany to continue using our products”.
The European antitrust authorities are increasingly active. Most recently, the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK regulator, ordered Meta to resell Giphy following a buyout that should never have taken place. In December 2021, the Autorità garante della concorrenza e del mercato (AGCM), the Italian antitrust, imposed a record fine of 1.1 billion euros on Amazon. The Italian competition policeman believes that the American giant “Harmed competing operators”. Same sanction and same fine for Apple in France in March 2020 for engaging in anti-competitive practices.