TRANSCRIPT - Android - An open or shut case?

This is the edited transcript of the Competition Lore podcast episode 11, with Professor Nicolas Petit and Professor Simonetta Vezzoso.

You can purchase a PDF download of the complete transcript of this podcast for US$10.

On 18 July this year Margrethe Vestager, Europe’s competition czar, announced a record €4.3 billion fine against Google in relation to various practices concerning Android, the search giant’s popular mobile operating system.

It comes just over a year after the European Commission’s €2.4 billion fine in the so-called Google Shopping case, discussed with Professor Pinar Akman on episode 7 of Competition Lore.

The Android case relates to complex contractual agreements that Google requires phonemakers to sign if they want to access the company’s popular digital services, in particular the ‘must have’ Google Play Store.

The decision sparked a barrage of commentary, for and against, not least in the latter camp from the Google CEO who argues that the Android story is one of “more competition not less” in the mobile eco-system and to the benefit of now more than 2 billion Android phone users.

In this episode of Competition Lore you’ll hear from Professor Nicolas Petit and Professor Simonetta Vezzoso, two of the many commentators who are dissecting the decision and who have very different views on whether the European Commission got it right. You'll also hear from Margrethe Vestager, the European Competition Commissioner, and from Sundar Pichai, the Google CEO!