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Google's Antitrust Quandary: Data Ecosystem Building

Robin Vandendriessche, Seppe Maes, Caroline Buts

DOI https://doi.org/10.21552/edpl/2024/1/18

Keywords: market definition, abusive practices, mobile application distribution agreements, MADAs, revenue sharing agreements, RSAs, anti-fragmentation agreements, AFAs, Google, data ecosystem, exclusivity rebate, antitrust


Case T‑604/18 Google and Alphabet v Commission (Google Android), Judgement of the General Court (Sixth Chamber, Extended Composition) of 14 September 2022
The judgement examined market definition and abusive practices in mobile application distribution agreements (MADAs), revenue sharing agreements (RSAs) and anti-fragmentation agreements (AFAs) by Google. The General Court largely upheld the Commission's decision, highlighting the interconnectedness of Google's anti-competitive restraints and categorised them as a single continuing infringement. The case provides a typical example of ‘competition for data’ between data ecosystems and has broader implications, even challenging Google's business model and discussing the burden of proof in exclusivity rebate cases.

Robin Vandendriessche and Seppe Maes are both PhD researchers at the Department of Applied Economics and the Brussels Centre for Competition Policy of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Caroline Buts is professor at the Department of Applied Economics and the Brussels Centre for Competition Policy of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium. For correspondence: <mailto:Robin.Vandendriessche@vub.be>, <mailto:Seppe.Maes@vub.be>.

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