Europe decides to punish Broadcom before its investigation is complete

The European Commission is in the process of investigating Broadcom for anticompetitive behaviour, but has imposed sanctions in advance of any conclusion.

Broadcom is considered to be dominant in the market for set-top box chips and some fixed line modems. The EC reckons it’s abusing that dominant position by persuading customers to go all-in on its products, thus unfairly restricting competition. The investigation was opened last June but the EC is so concerned about the effects of these practices that it has ordered Broadcom to stop them immediately.

“We have strong indications that Broadcom, the world’s leading supplier of chipsets used for TV set-top boxes and modems, is engaging in anticompetitive practices,” said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. “Broadcom’s behaviour is likely, in the absence of intervention, to create serious and irreversible harm to competition. We cannot let this happen, or else European customers and consumers would face higher prices and less choice and innovation. We therefore ordered Broadcom to immediately stop its conduct.”

The key word in that quote is ‘likely’. Vestager seems to be saying that mere suspicion is now reason enough for the EC to act against companies pre-emptively, in anticipation of the outcome of its investigation. What if the investigation concludes in favour of Broadcom? This seems to be a dangerous erosion of due process and an ominous precedent for any company that does business in Europe.

Broadcom now has 30 days to do the following or else:

Those restrictions apply until the EC get around to concluding its investigation or three years, whichever is sooner. It’s common practice for big companies to chuck lawyers at these kinds of investigations in order to drag them out, so you can see where the EC is coming from with this kind of pre-emptive action. But due process exists for a reason and the EC seems to be saying it’s better that a few innocent companies may be hurt than any guilty ones go unpunished.