Italy’s competition agency announced a $120 million fine on Google Thursday for unfairly blocking third-party apps on its Android app ecosystem, thereby favoring its own Google Maps app instead.
The Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, or AGCM, imposed the fine because Google blocked JuicePass, an app that gives location information on electric car charging points, from being integrated with Android Auto, Google’s operating system for using apps safely while driving.
JuicePass was created by Enel X, a subsidiary of the Italian state-controlled utility company Enel.
Almost 75% of smartphone users in Italy have an Android operating system on their device.
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“By refusing Enel X Italia interoperability with Android Auto, Google has unfairly limited the possibilities for end users to avail themselves of the Enel X Italia app when driving and recharging an electric vehicle,” AGCM wrote in a statement. “Google has consequently favored its own Google Maps app, which runs on Android Auto and enables functional services for electric vehicle charging.”
U.S. critics on both sides of the aisle have said in the past that fines against tech corporations such as Google are often perceived simply “as the cost of doing business,” as Republican Attorney General Doug Peterson of Nebraska said last year. This is why there is bipartisan support in Congress to enact structural remedies such as breaking up Big Tech companies or imposing new regulations.
The Justice Department in the United States last year filed an antitrust lawsuit alleging Google engaged in anti-competitive business practices, especially how it has used its search dominance in the online advertising arena to defeat its competitors.
Google pushed back against the Italian agency’s ruling.
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“We respectfully disagree with the AGCM’s decision, we will examine the documentation and evaluate the next steps,” a spokesperson for Google said. “Thousands of applications are already compatible with Android Auto, and our goal is to allow even more developers to make their apps available over time.”
