Bachelor Thesis in European Competition Law: The Google Android Case: Article 102 TFEU and the abuse of dominance in the (EU) digital sector: Is the Google Android case a wake-up call for a different approach by the EU Commission and the CJEU? (2016).

Abstract

In what is undoubtedly the most high-profile antitrust case of this moment, tech giant Google has been hit with a string of allegations with regard to its business practices. These allegations led Europe’s highest competition authority, the European Commission (hereafter: Commission), towards initiating formal proceedings against Google. The Google saga has been keeping legal practitioners, academia, competition authorities and courts busy since 2010. In November of that year, the first allegations were made with regard to Google’s online search services. The allegations accused Google of systematically favouring its own online search services (including its comparison shopping service ‘Google Shopping’) to the detriment of that of its rival providers by treating its competitors’ services unfavourably in Google’s search results. In April 2015, a second investigation was launched into Google with regard to its mobile operating system, Android, and its applications suite, Google Apps. While these cases are still pending, it seems that Google’s legal woes are far from over. The latest news suggests that the Commission is taking steps towards a third investigation against Google, this time over its ‘AdWords’ advertising service. What all three investigations have in common is that the submitted allegations revolve around Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereafter: TFEU), which prohibits undertakings from abusing their dominant market position. The focus of this bachelor’s thesis shall be Google Android case, as this is not only the most recent still pending case, it also raises several thought-provoking and far-reaching questions that lie at the core of EU competition law. These legal questions shall therefore be carefully assessed from an EU competition law perspective. While doing so, the particular challenges of the application of Article 102 TFEU by the Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereafter: CJEU) shall be highlighted. Special attention shall be given to the wider (EU) digital sector and its significance in the field of EU competition law. The thesis shall be concluded by evaluating whether the Google Android case is a wake-up call for a different approach by the Commission and the CJEU.