Gorilla Glass manufacturer Corning will not be fined for restricting competition

Gorilla Glass maker Corning will not be receiving a fine for infringing EU antitrust rules. The company has made several commitments to address the European Commission’s concerns about anticompetitive exclusive agreements.

In November 2024, the European Commission launched an investigation because Corning allegedly distorted competition in the worldwide market by imposing exclusive agreements for the supply of Alkali-aluminosilicate glass, also known as Alkali-AS Glass or Gorilla Glass, a special type of glass mainly used as cover glass in smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and other handheld electronic devices.

The Commission found that Corning holds a dominant position on this market. It also found that products developed by Corning for Apple are not part of this market, as these have special compositions and are only used by Apple.

According to the European Commission’s preliminary assessment, Corning may have abused its dominant position in the market for Alkali-AS Glass by concluding exclusive supply agreements with manufacturers of handheld electronic devices and with companies that process raw glass, also known as ‘finishers,’ such as Alkali-AS Glass.

This is a violation of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which states that any abuse of a dominant position within the internal market is prohibited.

To address the Commission’s concerns, Corning made some commitments between November 2024 and January 2025. For example, the manufacturer waived all exclusive dealing clauses in all its current agreements with manufacturers and finishers. Also, manufacturers are no longer required to purchase more than 50 percent of their demand from Corning.

These commitments will remain in effect for nine years and apply worldwide.

“By today’s decision, Corning has committed to cease conduct that could potentially prevent rivals from competing effectively on the market for cover glass used in smartphones and other handheld devices. These commitments are now legally binding. This opens up that market and serves to ensure that consumers benefit from low prices and high-quality cover glass,” Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said in a statement.

If Corning doesn’t honor these commitments, the European Commission can impose a fine of up to 10 percent of the company’s global annual turnover, or a periodic penalty payment of 5 percent per day of its daily turnover for every day of non-compliance.