Exclusionary innovation in the European Commission’s decisions against Google

Abstract

Exclusionary innovation poses a bigger threat to competition in digital platform markets than in other innovation markets given the relevance of data-driven network effects as well as the strong incentive and ability of digital platforms to pursue an envelopment strategy. This paper advocates a theory of harm called “platform-wide exclusionary innovation” which applies to conduct that plausibly creates short-term consumer benefit but is more likely to foreclose rivals and therefore reduce technological progress in the long run. This theory of harm can help to explain Google’s conduct that the European Commission condemned in its three decisions against Google between 2017 and 2019. Due to interconnections between Google’s practices in the three cases this article assesses whether they may be considered jointly for the purpose of finding of an infringement of Article 102 TFEU or under the proposed Digital Markets Act.