Both the US Department of Justice and the European Commission have approved Google’s acquisition of Motorola, dismissing concerns that the search engine’s ownership of the mobile phone company would violate antitrust issues and give Motorola an unfair advantage in access to Google’s Android operating system.
Google had argued against such concerns by pointing out that maintaining the Android ecosystem was in its best interest, and giving Motorola advantages against such device makers as Samsung, LG and HTC would be counterproductive for the company.
“After a thorough review of the proposed transactions, the Antitrust Division has determined that each acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition and has closed these three investigations,” the US Department of Justice stated in a release. “In all of the transactions, the division conducted an in-depth analysis into the potential ability and incentives of the acquiring firms to use the patents they proposed acquiring to foreclose competitors.”
The European Commission likewise agreed.
“It is unlikely that Google would restrict the use of Android solely to Motorola, a minor player in the European Economic Area,” the Commission said. Google “already had many ways in which to incentivize customers to take up its services and that the acquisition of Motorola would not materially change this.”
Google welcomed both decisions as the acquisition will help it improve its Android platform.
“This is an important milestone in the approval process….,” Google explained on its blog. “As we outlined in August, the combination of Google and Motorola Mobility will help supercharge Android. It will also enhance competition and offer consumers faster innovation, greater choice and wonderful user experiences.”