谷歌涉嫌安卓壟斷 或再遭歐盟創紀錄罰款

[導讀：據路透社2017年7月6日報道，知情人士透露，歐盟反壟斷監管機構正在考慮就谷歌在安卓手機操作系統上的涉嫌壟斷行為處以另一項創紀錄的罰款，目前已設立一個專家小組就該案提供補充意見。如果專家小組同意案件初始團隊的結論，歐盟委員會將可能於年底就該案作出處罰決定。此前不久，歐盟委員會曾於6月27日向谷歌開出了一張高達24.2億歐元（約186.9億元人民幣）的罰單，處罰谷歌濫用搜索引擎產生的支配地位排擠在線購物比較服務的競爭者且偏袒自身服務的行為，該罰單系目前反壟斷執法機構在世界範圍內針對單個企業開出的最大罰單。2016年4月，在接到眾多投訴之後，歐盟委員會指控谷歌涉嫌利用旗下處於市場支配地位的安卓手機操作系統排擠競爭對手，包括要求智能手機廠商預裝旗下的Google Search、Chrome瀏覽器等行為。（本文源自路透社。導讀系本公眾號原創，轉載請註明文字出自本公眾號。）]

EU antitrust regulators are weighing another record fine against Google over its Android mobile operating system 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 Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google by the end of the year.

The Commission in April last year charged Google with using its dominant Android mobile operating system to shut out rivals following a complaint by lobby group FairSearch, U.S.-based ad-blocking and privacy firm Disconnect Inc, Portuguese apps store Aptoide and Russia's Yandex (YNDX.O).

The move by the EU competition authority, which hit the company with a 2.4 billion euro ($2.7 billion) penalty for unfairly favoring its shopping service last month, could pose a bigger risk for the world's most popular internet search engine because of Android's huge growth potential.

The potential fine is expected to top that 2.4 billion euro penalty. The EU's charge sheet issued to Google in April last year said the anti-competitive practices started from January 2011 and the Commission is likely to tell the company to stop them. They are still ongoing, telecoms industry sources said.

Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso and Google both declined to comment.

The EU ruling has the scope to do the most damage compared with a third case against Google's AdSense, Richard Windsor, an independent financial analyst who tracks competition among the biggest U.S. and Asian internet and mobile companies, said in a recent note.

"If Google was forced to unbundle Google Play from its other Digital Life services, handset makers and operators would be free to set whatever they like by default potentially triggering a decline in the usage of Google's services," he said, referring to Google's apps store.

TAKING A TOLL

The long-running case is taking its toll on users and rivals, FairSearch lawyer Thomas Vinje said.

"A decision would come none too soon. Google is hurting Android users, including by surreptitiously commandeering ever-increasing amounts of personal data," Vinje said.

The EU competition enforcer said Google's tactics include requiring smartphone makers to pre-install Google Search and the Google Chrome browser in return for access to other Google apps, and barring the manufacturers from using rival versions of Android.

The company was also accused of paying smartphone makers and mobile network operators to only install Google Search on their devices.

Google said at the time that Android was a remarkable system based on open-source software and open innovation and was good for competition and for consumers.

The Commission had planned to establish a peer review panel, also known as a devil's advocate, in June, the people said.

Such panels are usually made up of three to four experienced officials who examine the case team's conclusions with a fresh pair of eyes to ensure that the case is robust. They usually take three to four weeks to complete their work although this could be extended. It was not clear if the panel has started work yet.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek/Keith Weir, Jane Merriman)

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