Google secretly tried to stop the probe into Android a year before its record R68 billion fine

Source: Business Insider, 23/07/2018

• The EU`s competition watchdog fined Google €4.3 billion (R68
billion) last week for abusing the dominance of its mobile operating
system, Android.
• Google secretly tried to settle with the European Commission a year
before the fine was imposed, Bloomberg reports.
• Google lawyers reportedly started talking to EU counterparts about
settling the Android probe in June 2017, after Google had been fined
for its shopping service.

Google secretly tried to settle with the EU over its investigation
into the Android operating system, Bloomberg reports.
The European Commission hit Google with a €4.3 billion (R68 billion)
fine last week for abusing the dominance of its mobile operating system.
European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager told Bloomberg a
year before the fine was imposed, Google started quietly trying to
resolve the probe.
Google lawyers talked to their EU counterparts about the possibility
of a settlement in June 2017, weeks after the company had been fined
€2.4 billion for abusing its dominant position to promote its shopping
service.
The firm`s lawyers were reportedly emboldened by a press conference on
June 27, where Vestager refused to rule out a settlement. Citing
people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that the lawyers
drafted a letter in August with suggestions for addressing the EU`s
concerns.
Google reportedly offered to adjust contracts to loosen restrictions
the EU objected to. The letter did not go into detail, however, and
just outlined starting points for discussion.
Vestager said Google waited at least a year too long to reach out. She
said that if companies wish to settle, they need to get in touch
`immediately after` getting the EU’s initial complaint or statement of
objections.
`That didn’t happen in this case and then, of course, it takes the
route that it has now taken,` said Vestager told Bloomberg.
Consequently, Google`s lawyers never received a formal response, and
the EU opted for a cease-and-desist letter.
Speaking about the EU`s conclusions, Vestager added: `It’s a very
serious legal infringement and you see how it has worked. It has
cemented Google’s position in search and it has de-facto locked down
Android in a completely Google-controlled ecosystem.`