- 19 September 2023
- ACTUALITÉS
Google appeals to overturn antitrust fine at top EU court 13 years after the opening of the Google Shopping case: OIP recalls the imperative need to reduce the extreme length of legal procedures!
As Google’s appeal in the Google Shopping case opens this week before the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg, the European association Open Internet Project (OIP) recalls the importance of this historical case, which confirmed the principle that a digital player in a dominant position cannot favor its own services in a privileged way.
OIP once again regrets Google’s delaying tactics, which have led it to continue its anti-competitive practices, and reiterates its call for interim measures to be taken as soon as the litigious behavior becomes known, so that it can be brought to an end immediately.
As the EU court has confirmed, preferential treatment is a prohibited discriminatory practice, and condemned as so. OIP, along with all European digital players, has been calling on the regulator for the past ten years to fight these illegal practices strongly and swiftly against all tech players abusing their dominant position! Google’s appeal against the judgement shows that these tech giants have no intention of respecting the startup ecosystem, which can only exist with free, fair and undistorted competitive conditions.
Not only does this extreme length hinder the development of healthy market conditions for competitors, but European consumers are ultimately deprived of choice and alternatives. Let’s not forget: for these 13 long years, Google has continued to promote its price comparator, without any adequate solution being put in place until now. And many competitors are now dead and no longer around to witness the trial.
Contacts:
Léonidas Kalogeropoulos, Délégué Général : +33607315126 – l.k@openinternetproject.eu
Anaïs Strauss, Chargée de mission :+33757503010 – anais.strauss@openinternetproject.eu