Advisor says Google’s restrictions on access to Android Auto may violate EU rules

Brussels: An adviser to Europe’s top court agreed on Thursday with Italy’s antitrust watchdog that Google’s refusal to allow an e-mobility app developed by Enel to access its Android Auto platform could breach competition rules.

The Italian antitrust authority fined Alphabet subsidiary Google €102 million in 2021 for blocking Enel’s JuicePass app on Android Auto, which allows drivers to navigate using maps displayed on the car’s dashboard and send messages while driving.

Google cited security concerns and a lack of a specific template to justify its refusal to adapt JuicePass to Android Auto.

The company appealed the antitrust ruling to the Italian Council of State, which then asked the Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg for advice.

“Google’s refusal to provide third parties with access to the Android Auto platform may violate competition law,” said court advocate general Laila Medina.

Medina found that an undertaking abuses its dominant position if its conduct excludes, hinders or delays the access of an application developed by a third-party operator to the platform, provided that such conduct is likely to have anti-competitive effects to the detriment of consumers and is not objectively justified.

The CJEU judges who will rule in the coming months tend to follow most of these non-binding opinions. The case is called C-233/23 Alphabet and Others.