AUTONEWS

Android Auto and Google's abuse of economic power

Google's refusal to allow access to an electric vehicle charging management application developed by Enel, JuicePass, on Android Auto “may constitute a violation of the European Union's competition rules”. This is the conclusion reached by Advocate General Laila Medina of the Court of Justice of the EU, who supports the position of the Italian Competition Authority, which previously “alleged that, by hindering and delaying the public availability of JuicePass on Android Auto, Google abused its dominant position”.

The Italian Competition Authority fined Google 102 million euros in 2021 for blocking JuicePass on Android Auto, software that allows drivers to connect their mobile phone to the car's screen and access applications or speak to send text messages while behind the wheel. Laila Medina's ruling, released this Thursday, recalls that Google appealed the decision, which pointed to an alleged abuse of position, “to the Council of State, sitting in jurisdiction (Italy) which submitted the matter to the Court of Justice”. The technology company led by Sundar Pichai justified the refusal to allow access to JuicePass based on “security concerns and the need to allocate the resources necessary for the development of a new model”. This is because third-party developers need models provided by Google to be able to create versions of their own applications that are compatible with Android Auto. 

In Laila Medina's opinion, “the mere fact that, in order to grant access to this [third-party] platform, the dominant company is obliged, in addition to giving its consent, to develop a software model that takes into account the specific needs of the operator requesting access cannot, in itself, justify a refusal of access, provided that an adequate period is allowed for such development and that the latter is subject to appropriate considerations in favor of the dominant company”. The Advocate General's conclusions are not binding, since her “mission” is to “propose to the Court of Justice, with complete independence, a legal solution in the cases assigned to it”. Thus, the judges of the Court of Justice of the European Union will now decide on the case and issue their judgment later.

In response to the publication of Laila Medina's opinion, Google says it is awaiting “the Court's decision”. “Since the beginning of this case, we have been working to add the model requested by Enel and many similar applications are already available globally on Android Auto”, says a spokesperson for the company in a statement sent to Observador.

In addition, Google claims that Enel wanted to be given special treatment to promote its own products. The technology company argues that it wants to create a better experience for users rather than focusing on specific companies. Thus, it stresses that the initial priority was on music applications, popular in cars, and messaging — rather than features related to charging electric cars (which it assumes few people have).

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