Margrethe Vestager is the European commissioner for competition, and in a recent interview she stated that Google and Apple must have limits in Europe, just like the rest of the companies. He commented on the accusations officially formulated by the European Commission against the two companies, accusing them of violating antitrust legislation and more.
Those from Apple are accused of not correctly paying tax on the profit collected for the sale of their own products in Europe, the European Commission demanding the recovery of 13 billion dollars. Google, on the other hand, is accused of making Android in such a way that it imposes the use of its services at the expense of others, inhibiting the competition made by other competitors.
Margrethe Vestager has been looking for some time to punish Google and Apple for the way they conduct their activities in Europe, and now seems to have found the right moment. Both companies are at war with the European Commission because of this commissioner, and both companies could have to pay serious sums of money for possible violations of community legislation.
Those from Apple accused the European Commission of making political decisions, Google simply saying that it will fight to prove that it has not violated EU law. In the end, we are talking about years and years of processes in which Apple and Google will be able to carry out their activities exactly as they did in the past, and the European Commission will not gain anything.
"I think any company should compete on the quality of their products, their prices, the novelty they can produce, their services, because that would be fair competition. If you're in a situation where your effective tax rate is so much lower than any other company, then obviously you have a much better position when it comes to compete on prices and everything else."
