Top EU court rejects Google appeal over Android Auto fine

(CN) — The EU’s highest court on Tuesday upheld a fine from the Italian competition watchdog, finding Google had breached competition rules by not allowing an e-mobility app on its Android Auto system.

The European Court of Justice rejected Google’s appeal of the 102 million euro ($113.2 million) fine, ruling that delaying approval of the Italian-made JuicePass for its car navigation platform can be considered an abuse of its dominant market position.

Enel, Italy’s largest electric company, released JuicePass in 2018. The multinational operates more than half of the electric charging stations in the country and its app allows drivers to find charge points, book a space and navigate to their location.

Initially, users could download the app to mobile devices via the Google Play store. Several months after its launch, Enel requested that JuicePass be made available on Android Auto, the in-car navigation system.

Google refused, saying only messaging and multimedia applications, like Spotify, would be allowed on its system. A year later Enel tried again and was rebuffed a second time.

In 2020, Google released a template for AndroidAuto that allows drivers to find electric charging stations and pay for their use.

Enel filed a complaint with the Italian Competition Authority, which found in 2021 that Google had abused its dominant position in the market to block JuicePass. Google then filed its own complaint in an Italian court, which was rejected. The company appealed and the Council of State referred the matter to the Luxembourg-based court.

Judges at the Court of Justice found that Google could refuse to incorporate an app onto its system if it had genuine security concerns but otherwise was obliged to facilitate the inclusion of the app within a reasonable period.

“The refusal of access can have anticompetitive effects even if the third-party undertaking which developed the app and its competitors continued to be active on the market to which that app belongs and grew their position on that market without benefitting from interoperability with that platform,”the 17-judge panel said in a ruling only available in Italian and French.

Google argued that too few users wanted the features JuicePass was requesting and said it had concerns about safety.

“We prioritize building the features drivers need most because we believe that innovation should be driven by user demand, not specific companies’ requests,” the company said in a statement.

Google and Enel ultimately resolved the issue and the app was made available on the Android system. The fine, however, still stood.

The ruling is the latest case Google has lost at the court. Last year, judges upheld a 2.4 billion euro ($2.7 billion) fine against the search giant for illegally promoting its own shopping comparison service over rivals.

The decision cannot be appealed. The case now returns to the Italian court for a final ruling.

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