Could Google’s $4 Billion Penalty Threaten the Cryptocurrency Industry?

Legal experts face Google’s €4.34 billion fine Web3 says it can negatively affect their protocols.

Big Penalty Given to Google Could Hurt Experts Developing Web3 Protocols

A recent European Union (EU) court decision has approved one of the world’s largest anti-competitive penalties.

This decision also serves as a warning to future Web3 open source protocol developers.

The EU judges, who apparently targeted Google, one of the giants of Web 2.0, also limited the scope of open source developers with this decision.

The lawsuit began in 2018 when Alphabet, a subsidiary of search giant Google, found that it forced Android phones to install the Google app.

Due to this incident, a record 4.34 billion euros were imposed on the company.

Schrepel, an associate professor of law at the Amsterdam Institute of Law and Technology in the Netherlands, said that if a company develops an operating system, platform or aggregator, it would be a criminal offense under the court’s Android decision to pre-install it on devices.

The court considers it abuse as it limits access to the market, even if the app is implemented to prevent the collapse of the ecosystem due to incompatible releases.

Some crypto proponents oppose attempts to legitimize or litigate how Web3 systems should work.

bitcoin Its proponents argue that the only rules that should apply are the code rules that underpin a protocol.

Schrepel states that courts may impose additional requirements on open-source systems, pushing developers towards other, less competitive models.

*Not investment advice.