Court rules that giving Google Maps free is tantamount to abusing its dominant position

As Google gets more powerful, various voices are being raised over its money power and dominance. In such a case, a French court has ruled that the company is abusing its dominant position by making Google Maps free resulting in huge loses to a French mapping company.

The court asked Google to pay a fine worth $660,000. As per reports the French commercial court “upheld an unfair competition complaint lodged by Bottin Cartographes against Google France and its parent company Google Inc. for providing free web mapping services to some businesses.”

Bottin Cartographes provides mapping services for a fee and its clientele list includes Louis Vuitton, Airbus and several auto companies.
The French court ruling ordered Google to pay $660,000 in damages and interest to Bottin Cartographes, along with a 15,000 Euro fine. That means total damage from the ruling is about $680,000.

A Google France spokesperson says the company is still studying the court’s decision and reviewing its options, adding that Google is “convinced that a free high-quality mapping tool is beneficial for both Internet users and websites.”
This ruling can have far reaching implications as many critics and analysts have been saying that Google’s dominance over internet is squeezing out both customers and competitors.