EU Commission Shows No Concrete Harm to Consumers in Antitrust Allegations Against Google; Holding ‘Open’ Operating Systems to Higher Standard Only Hurts Consumer Choice

WASHINGTON—The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released the following statement from Vice President Daniel Castro on the European Commission allegations that Google has breached EU antitrust laws with its Android operating system:

Today’s announcement shows that the European Commission holds a misguided view of how competition law should be used to protect consumers in the era of digital platforms. Operating systems like Android benefit from economies of scale and network effects that naturally limit the number of competitors in the market, and this often produces greater value for consumers in the form of better features, lower costs, and increased interoperability. Fewer competitors does not necessarily mean that consumers will be harmed. It is striking in today’s announcement that the European Commission has failed to give concrete details about how consumers have been harmed by the alleged offenses.

Moreover, the EU Commission would not be making these allegations against Google if it had not committed to developing Android as an open platform that anyone can build applications for and customize. But companies who develop open platforms should not be held to a higher standard than those developing closed platforms. Open platforms may offer greater flexibility to expand and extend features and functionality, while closed platforms may offer better consistency, security, and usability to end users. Customers should have the option to decide whichever works best for them, but creating a two-tiered standard would discourage investment in open platforms and hurt consumer choice.

As the European Commission reviews the response to its concerns in the coming weeks, it should consider both the immediate and long-term implications of its actions.