Antitrust complaint against Android is an attack on open source

[Commentary] Fairsearch -- an anti-Google group that counts Microsoft, Oracle, Nokia, and about a dozen other Google competitors as members -- filed a formal complaint with the European Commission about the search giant's "predatory distribution of Android at below cost." Apparently, Fairsearch believes that it's "predatory" for a company to gain market share by giving its software away for free.

The argument should alarm anyone who benefits from free software—which is to say everyone who uses the Internet. Apparently, Fairsearch believes that it's "predatory" for a company to gain market share by giving its software away for free. That stance would have sweeping implications for the software industry because so many software companies distribute software for free. Competition laws are supposed to benefit consumers, not a company's competitors. It's easy to see how Microsoft and Nokia might have been harmed by Google's decision to price its mobile operating system at zero. But there's no reason to think the strategy is harmful to consumers. To the contrary, consumers benefit greatly from the low price and broad selection of Android handsets. And despite those low prices, Android faces competition from mobile operating systems made by Apple, Microsoft, Research in Motion, Mozilla, and others.