On 6 March 2017, TCA web site announced that TCA has opened a formal investigation against the Google. But this opening of formal investigation is not intended by TCA, it was the administrative court that obliged the TCA to open the formal investigation. TCA had rejected the complaints of the Yandex with the decision dated 28.12.2015.
When we look the brief history of the case from the reasoned decision, Yandex was the complainant in 2015 stating that Google was working with mobile phone producers exclusively to insert the google search engine to the device, there were income sharing agreements and connected google products which exclude competitors from the market as Google had major market dominance. As the Turkish Competition Law contains administrative procedure, TCA has launched a preliminary investigation for looking if there is a serious complaint or not. This preliminary investigation period is short as 30 days, that the reporting team could only have preliminary conducts of there is a strong feeling of violation or there is a clear not violation case. The reporting team has concluded and gave their opinion stating that there was clear evidence that Google was violating competition law, so the formal investigation had to be opened.
Although the reasoned decision is explaining how the Google is violating competition rules via exclusive pre-downloading Google application to mobile phones and the agreements is having violating effects on the market as exclusory conducts, the decision was ending only giving a formal notice stating that, if Google changes its behavior and agreements, it is acceptable from the TCA perspective. But two of the seven members of TCA has written dissenting opinion that the formal investigation had to open.
As said in the Turkish proverb “the wrong assessment comes back from Baghdad”, this decision comes back from the Turkish Regional Administrative Court by a stay of execution decision on not to open a formal investigation.
So, TCA has to open this formal investigation. Regarding to Turkish Competition Law procedural parts, this investigation has to be concluded at least within 1,5 year. Damien Geradin is complaining that the EU Competition Authority has to say something within 6 years on big cases such as Google, the Turkish law is obliging the process has to be concluded in legal time limits.
If Google has not changed its behavior and agreements, this will mean the “doubt” about violation may mean the duration of the violation is extended and the damage is extended. We will see the process from TCA practices.
Oğuzkan Güzel, Ph.D.
Guzel Law Office
oguzkan.guzel@guzel.av.tr