JAKARTA – Google has opened up about how they can take market share in their competition with competitors. The technology company from the United States (US) revealed the reason for making payments to a number of smartphone vendors such as Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, to Xiaomi. This is intended to prevent competition.
The acknowledgment was delivered directly by Google at the European general court which took place on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. This trial was the third time that it had taken place in one week.
Launching Reuters, Google is trying to cancel an antitrust lawsuit that will be imposed on the technology company worth 4.2 billion euros (approximately Rp. 71.4 trillion). They also asked the European Commission to relax its orders on engagement regarding Android devices.
There are two types of agreements at issue in the case, one of which is regarding the payment for pre-installation of Google Search which is accused of being a revenue sharing arrangement (RSA) to kill competition.
However, Google rejected the allegations. Assimakis Komninos as the company's lawyer explained to the court that the payment was made so that the Android operating system (OS) could have a place in smartphone devices.
“Google has to offer a balanced revenue stream. Incentives to convince them to open and adopt the Android platform. At the same time, RSA also helps them keep their prices down and successfully compete with Apple,” said Komninos.
The Google lawyer also explained that this way allows companies to invest in operating systems to free application stores.
“Google is getting another promotional opportunity, a single pre-install that allows investing in a free app store OS and more.”
Komninos explained that the profit sharing or RSA is only 5 percent of the total market. However, the defense of Komninos was rejected by Nicholas Khan as a lawyer for the European Commission. Khan considers RSA to be the pinnacle of practices closely linked to Google.
“What worries them is that competitors are gaining traction,” explains Khan.
The European Commission's lawsuit against Google may still continue in the future. The court will announce a verdict against Google in 2022.
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