• Google’s refusal to allow an electric car app developed by Enel to access its android auto platform may violate competition rules.
  • The court’s attorney general, Laila Medina, said he sided with Italy’s antitrust authorities.

OUR TAKE
The incident highlights the question of how big tech companies balance their own interests with the rules of competition in the marketplace in the digitalization and platform economy. It could also have implications for other developers and service providers who rely on Google’s platforms.
— Iydia Ding, BTW reporter

What happened

An adviser to the European Union’s top court has sided with Italy’s antitrust authority in arguing that Google may have violated competition rules by denying JuicePass, an electric car charging app developed by Enel X, access to its android auto platform. The stance comes after Italy’s antitrust regulator fined Google 102 million euros in 2021 for blocking JuicePass on android auto, software that allows drivers to navigate using a map on a car’s dashboard and send messages while driving.

Citing security concerns and the lack of a specific template that rejected making JuicePass compatible with android auto, Google appealed to the Italian Council of State and said it had taken action to address the issue. Laila Medina, the prosecutor general of the Court of Justice of the European Union, said Google’s refusal may have violated competition rules. Google challenged the claim, and Italy’s Council of State referred the matter to the European Court of Justice. The attorney general’s opinion is not binding on the court, and judges will begin considering the case and issue a judgment at a later date.

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Why it’s important

“By refusing to provide third-party access to the android auto platform, Google may have violated competition rules,” said Laila Medina, the EU Court of Justice’s advocate general. The decision came after Google rejected Enel X’s request, citing security concerns and the need to allocate resources for new templates. The Italian Competition Authority found that Google’s actions violated EU competition rules and pointed out that Google abused its dominant market position by blocking and delaying the launch of JuicePass on android auto.

The incident highlights the question of how big tech companies balance their own interests with the rules of competition in the marketplace in the digitalization and platform economy. It could also have implications for other developers and service providers who rely on Google’s platforms, as it relates to issues of platform openness and fair competition.