It’s astounding. Time seems to be repeating. European madness takes its toll.

Two decades ago, the European Commission (EC) worried that Microsoft was abusing its dominant position. Microsoft’s operating system was the way most people interacted with computers, and the operating system came bundled with a media player and an internet browser. The EC reckoned that Microsoft was exploiting its dominant position in the operating system market to lock up other markets.

And so, late in 2004, it required Microsoft to offer European versions of Windows that did not include a media player. Five years later, it required Microsoft to offer users choices among internet browsers when installing Windows so Internet Explorer would not be privileged by Windows’ dominant position.

It was always ludicrous. Installing alternative media players, or browsers, was and is trivially easy. Microsoft’s dominance was driven by its superior products. In areas where Microsoft’s products lagged, Windows’ dominance provided it with no advantage. A typo in Internet Explorer’s URL bar would lead the user to an MSN Search window, but Google provided the better search engine and users chose it despite the Commission’s contrived arguments about consumer lock-in.

Early last year, Google’s Android overtook Microsoft Windows as the most popular way of getting to the internet. The EC decided this week, in a bit of a mind flip back into the 2000s, that it should be harder for Android users to access Google services like Google search. It fined Google €4.34 billion, or just under NZD$7.5 billion.

The EC’s complaint is at least as ludicrous as its 2000s worries about Internet Explorer. It was as simple for me to install Firefox in the early 2000s on my Windows machine as it is for me to install DuckDuckGo on my Android phone today. Google’s search dominance depends on keeping ahead of its competitors.

And while the EC sees anticompetitive purpose in Google requiring that manufacturers build from its version of Android, the better explanation is that apps available in Google’s Play store might not work well on alternative versions.

New Zealand is on the sidelines of this dispute but does have a stake. Kiwi app developers may have to look forward to coding for compatibility with a bevy of Android variants. And if Google has to fund Android development through licensing fees rather than bundled search tools, we can expect higher phone prices.

I hate doing this time warp again.