The Google logo on a smartphone. – Matt Rourke / AP / SIPA
Will this give ideas to other European countries? The gendarme of competition in Italy announced Thursday to impose on Google a fine of more than 100 million euros for abuse of dominant position.
This fine, amounting to 102.084 million euros, is justified by the refusal of the internet giant to accept on its Google Play platform a third-party application making it possible to find charging stations for electric cars, specifies the ‘Italian Antitrust.
In Italy, almost 75% of smartphones use Android
“Through the Android operating system and the Google Play application store, Google holds a dominant position (…) It should be remembered that in Italy around three quarters of smartphones use Android”, explains the regulator. According to the survey, “Google did not allow” the use of the JuicePass application, developed by the Italian energy giant Enel, on its Android Auto system which allows a vehicle to connect and obtain many services.
“JuicePass offers a wide range of services for recharging electric vehicles, ranging from finding a charging station to managing charging and reserving a terminal,” continues the competition policeman. This application is therefore in competition with the Google Maps application of the American giant, which currently only allows you to search for charging stations for electric vehicles.
An investigation opened in May 2019
“Google, by refusing Enel X Italia (…) to make JuicePass available on Android Auto, unfairly limited the possibilities for users of the Enel application”, estimates the Antitrust which had opened an investigation in May 2019. “The exclusion of the Enel X Italia application from Android Auto has lasted for more than two years. The continuation of this conduct could definitively jeopardize the possibility for Enel X Italia to build a solid user base at a time when there is significant growth in sales of electric vehicles, ”adds the regulator.
In this context, Italy also required Google to make available to Enel X Italia and other application developers “the instruments for programming applications running on Android Auto”. This obligation will be monitored with the help of an independent Antitrust expert “to whom Google must provide all the collaboration and information requested”.