Google Fined $660,000 For Making Google Maps Free
Google is facing a $660,000 fine in France for making Google Maps free to businesses.
A recent ruling in a French commercial court may see Google put into much larger legal bind globally thanks to the "anti-competitive" nature of Google Maps. Why? Because Google was offering a service that one French company provided for free, thus the latter cried "anti-competitive" to the French court system.
Honestly, it's surprising Google isn't facing additional anti-competitive lawsuits both locally and abroad. Case in point: a Verizon customer who purchases an Xperia PLAY smartphone has two options: use Google Maps, which is free, or use Verizon's VZ Navigator which costs an extra $10 a month. Which service will the consumer likely use?
On Tuesday a Paris court sided with French mapping company Bottin Cartographes who filed an unfair competition complaint against Google France and parent company Google for providing free web mapping services to businesses across the country. Bottin Cartographes provides the same services but for a fee, thus complained to the court that Google's strategy was aimed at undercutting competitors by temporarily swallowing the full cost until it gains control of the market.
"We proved the illegality of (Google's) strategy to remove its competitors... the court recognized the unfair and abusive character of the methods used and allocated Bottin Cartographes all it claimed," said the lawyer for Bottin Cartographes, Jean-David Scemmama. "This is the first time Google has been convicted for its Google Maps application."
Scemmama added that Bottin argued its case against Google for two years. But finally Google France was ordered to pay 500,000 euros (about $660,000) in damages and interest to the plaintiff, and an additional 15,000 euro fine for its practice. Naturally Google France plans to appeal the decision.
"We will appeal this decision," a Google spokesperson stated. "We remain convinced that a free high-quality mapping tool is beneficial for both Internet users and websites. There remains competition in this sector for us, both in France and internationally."
Google fought the American court system last year in a Delaware District Court after British Telecom filed a lawsuit claiming that Google Maps violates patents it holds related to navigation information. Google also faced a 100,000 Euro fine in France almost a year ago for collecting private information via Street View drive-bys.
- AT&T Customer Service Ahead of Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile
- Microsoft Slings Mud at Google's New Policy with "Gmail Man"
- Microsoft Could be Preparing a Digital Wallet Service
- Motorola's Droid 4 May Infiltrate Verizon Next Week
- RIM Uses Cartoon Characters to Show How You Will Be Bold
- Survey: Android Users Most Likely to Have Sex on First Date
- Chromatic Typewriter Lets You Type Up a Painting
- Google Phasing Out the Android Menu Button
- BlackBerry London Could be Like Downsized PlayBook
- Microsoft Officially Revealing Halo 4 This Month
- NASA Analyzes Material Beyond Our Solar System
- Facebook Now Reaches More than Half of All Internet Users
- Kindle Fire Captures 30 Percent of Web Traffic Among Tablets
- Windows Phone 8 "Apollo" Supports Multi-Core, NFC
- Rumored iPad 3 Specs Point to Quad-core CPU, LTE Support
- Google's Bouncer Protects Android Market From Malware
- Pentax Intros 16MP Marc Newson Mirrorless Camera
- Zuckerberg Paying Over $1.5B in Taxes Thanks to IPO
- Report: Smartphones Overtook PCs in Shipped Units in 2011
really? I've studied about anti-competitive practices and predatory pricing, but Google map can in no way be subject to predatory pricing or any other anti-competitive practices. France you mad?
First para last sentence is misleading - It should be read "fee" rather than "free"
Sorry if my reading comprehension is a bit off tonight, but they're getting fined for offering a free service while "competitors" are charging? Did I read that correctly?
Sued because they MIGHT charge at a later date? Surely you can only argue its anti-competitive if google then starts charging once the competition is gone? Also surely that means you can sue any company that offers a free service that you charge a fee for, where does that end?
what the French court is saying is that Google Map is free at first while other map service is not...
when the paid map service bankrupts and couldn't keep up with Google Maps, Google then would charge fees...
from the article - "Bottin Cartographes provides the same services but for a fee, thus complained to the court that Google's strategy was aimed at undercutting competitors by temporarily swallowing the full cost until it gains control of the market."
Sorry if my reading comprehension is a bit off tonight, but they're getting fined for offering a free service while "competitors" are charging? Did I read that correctly?
Yep. The thing is that Goggle maps, as nice as it is, is not quite as robust or even always up to date as one that companies sell. Normally it takes a year or two for major changes to be seen on Google Maps. I can still go to some of my old residences and see my old car parked there and the last move was 2 years ago.
Thing is that Google doesn't charge for any of their services so in reality everything they offer is doing the same thing. But its not anti-competitive. Anti-competitive is when you undercut, manipulate and try to control the market. Google, they may, but as far as we can tell does not do those thing.
Not really sure what this fine is going to do. Google will happily pay it because it'll probably cost them more to proceed with litigation.
Apparently it is now illegal to do something that MIGHT lead to something illegal. This is a load of bull and the french court has no ground to charge google on the fact that they might use their position for a monopoly. I can see maybe a block of google's practices if their was more evidence of a monopoly but giving that company a lump sum of cash is not fixing the situation.
It should be called as "un-competitive law"
But again it is a reasonable move. Because......
The US even uses the same excuse to tax Chinese goods (which is not free). Eventhough they sold at the same price in China / US.
So if somehow Google was able to make it legally binding that they will never charge for google maps it would completely nullify the current claims?
so google should charge france users $1 instead for access.. is it still anti-competitive?
it's a competition they cant compete.
So let me get this straight, people (and businesses) aren't allowed to get free services when possible? and for example Apple is allowed to charge as much as it wants for everything?
If this is in fact the view of the French commercial court, then combined with recent SOPA, ACTA and PIPA attempts, this will lead to capitalism's failure for sure; people will not stand for it anymore.
Sorry if my reading comprehension is a bit off tonight, but they're getting fined for offering a free service while "competitors" are charging? Did I read that correctly?
Mapquest anyone? Bing Maps? They do know that most consumers won't pay unless they absolutely have to, right? And what about the free market? lol...
I'm selling breathing for a fee! Should I sue the WHOLE WIDE WORLD because they are breathing for free????
Why would I pay for some blood sucking company for information that should be free?
What B.S.!! Google is in no way in competition with any of the other companies, it offers a free service which is beneficial to everyone on the planet. Any free service's like this saves people all around the world millions of dollars. If the business is loosing money because of it, then they need to get into a different business. What, the world should have to pay service fee's to keep the company in business? Any free service that benefits the world like google maps (mapquest), should get a noble prize. What sue happy Azzholes!!
Next thing you know they will be going after free open source software, like linux, gimp, or open office. I think in a perfect world, everything would be free to consumers. But it's stupid stuff like this that is making the rich richer and the poor poorer. They should have laws to prevent stuff like this from happening if it benefits the world.
The point of commercial laws is to protect the consumer, not to make sure companies have high profit. If google was giving the map service for free until its competitors go bankrupt and then jack up the prices, that would be anti-competitive. But since they are not doing that (as I don't think they will start charging for their maps) they shouldn't be guilty of anything. The French have to remember that their citizens are benefiting from having this service. Protectionism against foreign competition has never benefited a country in the long run. I just hope people would recognize that for companies of any country, not just the U.S. ones.
I'm going to charge everyone for everything, then sue all of you who will not pay me, because freedom is 'anti-competitive'.
"Because Google was offering a service that one French company provided for free"
proof your article before you release it to the public.
even if google's competitors went out of business and google then started charging a fee, another competitor would pop up and undercut google. this back and forth would keep prices low if not free. this court decision is actually doing the opposite of their stated goal and creating an anti-competitive market. the government should just leave the market alone.
One of the many reasons we should have let Germany keep France after WW2.
Lets get this straight. Google giving away maps for free is only bad because some day they might start taking advantage of consumers by selling maps, which could be illegal. This according to a company that sells maps.
Ah. You would think watching failed ideas(Eg governments trying to outlaw competition in the name of persevering competition) turn into self parodies would be more amusing; but at this point its just pathetic.
$660K? Like Google gives...
Google giving away a free service: Criminal.
Apple patents a gesture: Totally OK.
This is why anti-trust, patent, and copyright laws need to be rewritten for the digital age.
The court is prejudging google for what it thinks google might do in the future. Let's see, we'll jail you now because we think you might commit a crime in the future. They might as well fine all charitable institutions for giving out free services competing against others that charge a fee.
Just block French IP addresses from accessing Google Maps and you're good to go.
This is what happens when some people's mind just get stuck in the old ways. They couldn't keep up with the rapidly changing tech world.
next up, free software are anti competition
Awaiting Microsoft to sue all Linux distro, the newspaper companies to sue online news because its free, So in France if it thing is free it is illegal! wtf
Linux are gonna be in trouble.
French governement siding with French company. I'm not from the US, but the French are so up their own arse.
You all miss the point.
The point is not that Google is giving its maps service away for free. It is that they are using an other part of the company (the advertising part) to pay for the mapping part.
And THAT is anti-competative behaviour.