Day 2 is over at #GoogleHearing in EU court.

Final little flurry of questioning went to the issue of Google's search engine being "superior" to rivals, and that was why users liked it. Not because of any #antitrust restriction on Android...as the argument goes.

Thread/1
Google said the @EU_Commission had failed to do a consumer survey & had relied on Play Store ratings, which were "remarkably superficial." EC pointed to internal @Google emails that showed company didn't want to make its tech "optional." German publishers said no rivals could../2
...emerge because they couldn't get on the platform, and therefore couldn't get the data needed to compete.

Judge also seemed interested in position of Chrome browser in the Google ecosystem, implying it was there simply to channel traffic to the search engine. /3
Final exchange focused on the legal framing of the case. Nerds, pay attention.

Google sees the case as "foreclosure" & says EC doesn't prove that. @LamadridAlfonso listed ECJ caselaw to establish the F test & EC fails that test. Just 1 mention of the F word in the decision /4
EC says: nonsense. The test is 'capability to restrict competition'. That's plastered all over the decision. Android contracts were "capable" of reducing rivals' chance to compete: ergo, @Google broke the law. Sorry, mate. /5
This debate entailed a long march back thru @Microsoft judgment from 2007. And then some flirting with Generics (UK), Intel and so on. You, like me, have probably heard enough about these for a lifetime.

Tmrw, it's back to the coalface: this time revenue-share agreements. /6
This will likely go back into the belly of the Intel judgment & comparisons with "as efficient competitors." It's possibly the most difficult thing on the planet to tweet about given character limitations. So don't expect much from me. /7
I mean, just look at this:

"as efficient competitor test" + "revenue-sharing agreements" = 58 characters.

What do you expect?

Over and out. /ends [self-suspends twitter account]

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More from @lewis_crofts

1 Oct
My wrap on final session of #GoogleHearing.

Google went hard on benefits Android has created, creating platform that spurred competition. It said it has right to promote Android & not rest on its laurels.

EC said: G “gave itself the laurel wreath before race had started”/1
Google said EC had failed to prove preinstallation was anticompetitive because other apps/services could be downloaded easily & accessed through browsers.

EC said G execs knew full well their success rested in “not making its services optional.” /2
Consumers argue that there is a “status quo bias” where users stick with the stuff that comes on the phone.

Google argued previously that there was nothing on behavioural economics in the @EU_Commission #antitrust decision & doubting their value here /3
Read 11 tweets
1 Oct
#GoogleHearing winds up today. Closing arguments from @Google and @EU_Commission

This will be a set-piece affair & judge already indicated last night he’s done with questioning. So, it’ll be more like:
Lawyers use this session to a) hit their strongest arguments again, b) address some lingering doubts by the judges to try to change their minds, c) make sweeping statements about the importance of X or Y for the future of the law/business. /2
Danish blue cheese came up repeatedly over 4 days as an analogy for market share, due to the Danish judge leading the questions. Expect some tortured references to that. /3
Read 6 tweets
30 Sep
Last volley from #GoogleHearing today & it was important.

EU judges wanted to know: if we side with Google on one slice of their case does it destroy the whole @EU_Commission #antitrust decision?

Essentially, court is exploring the prospects of a partial @Google win /thread
This was all couched as "hypothetical" by judge Frimodt Nielsen (& I've seen other hearings where this happens) but it shows court is working out consequences of accepting at least parts of @Google appeal.

Why is this a tricky legal?

Well, funny you asked. Let me tell you. /1
Imagine the EC decision is a Greek temple with four pillars.

@EU_Commission says each of the four pillars is an infringement of EU law & the temple overall is a big single overarching infringement. So, there are two strands to its case: the 4 pillars & the temple itself. /2
Read 9 tweets
30 Sep
.@sundarpichai could've known Google was acting abusively, given he blogged about similar @Microsoft conduct in 2009.

That's the nub of @EU_Commission response to @Google claim that the 4.34bn fine over Android contracts was 'novel.'

This p.m. at #ECJ, it was all about money/1
Google took on the "staggering" antitrust fine in its pleas today, saying it should have been less (or zero) given it couldn't have known that EC would hit an open platform like this.

EC said: the case was about tying software to operating systems. You knew about that already/2
In fact, @sundarpichai had blogged about @Microsoft doing that with its browsers. So, come on guys, it wasn't out of the blue for you.

Here's the blog post: publicpolicy.googleblog.com/2009/02/browse…
/3
Read 4 tweets
30 Sep
Break for lunch in #GoogleHearing at ECJ. Here's what happened this morning:

- Google argued that EC introduced new elements into its investigation (an AEC test) & because it did this in a letter instead of a charge-sheet, Google couldn't have a private hearing on it /1
- if G had had a hearing, it could have better defended itself against accusations of dodgy revenue-sharing agreements w/ phonemakers
- so, the procedural failure should mean court annuls this part of decision

EC aint buying this:
- says Google opted against hearing after SO /2
- the Letters of Facts just "refined" the "provisional" AEC test set out in SO, in light of Google's own defense
- and AEC test is only "one element" of the revenue-share case.

Interesting interaction with Judge Marcoulli who asked about relevance of UPS ruling (C-265/17 P) /3
Read 7 tweets
30 Sep
Day4 of #GoogleHearing is upon us: they'll discuss procedural irregularities & the mega 4.34bn fine.

On procedure:
- Google says EC should have sent it formal charges (and not a so-called Letter of Facts), since this would have triggered a right to a closed-doors hearing. /1
- Not doing so deprived it of the right to be heard
- Google also says EC didn't record minutes of interviews with other companies sufficiently. Again, this means its defence rights were harmed.

- EC says: the LoF had no new charges, so it didn't need to be an SO. /2
- And also Google gave up right to a hearing when it didn't have one after getting the first SO.
- as to interviews: EC says it doesn't have to record every last utterance of an informal chat as an "interview."

On the fine:
- Google says it's the biggest ever in history /3
Read 5 tweets

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