Recently, Google has been strike with a record-breaking €4.3 billion which is approximately $5 billion, fined by the EU regulators for infringement of antitrust violations. The European Commission said that Google had mistreated its Android market supremacy in three key areas. Now the Google has been bundling its Chrome apps and Search Engine into the operating system. And Google has also blocked phone manufactures from creating more devices that already run forked versions of the Android, and it also made payments to certain large phone makers and mobile network operators to entirely bundle the Google search application on handsets.
Now the European Commission wants Google to get its prohibited conduct to an end in an effectual manner within the 90 days of the decision. It simply means that Google will need to stop forcing the manufacturers to preinstall Google and Chrome search to provide the Google Play Store on the handsets. It will also need to stop the preventing phone manufacturers by using the forked versions of Android; the commission said to the Google that they did not provide any credible evidence by which the Android forks would be exaggerated by the technical failures or fail to support applications. However, the Google’s unlawful payments for application bundling finished in the year 2014 after EU started to look into the problems
Now Google said that it would appeal the decision. A Google spokesperson in a statement said that they created more choice for the users not less. An exciting ecosystem, rapid innovation, at very lower prices are the standard hallmarks of the robust competition. And they will now appeal on the decision of the Commission. The Google is also warning that the EU’s decision might influence the free business model of Android in the future.
Moreover, the EU has been inspecting Android further strongly over the past few years, when the competitors complained that Google has been abusing its market supremacy in software which runs on the smartphones. Originally, the FairSearch filed a complaint against the Google in the year 2013, and the group has included competitors like Microsoft, Nokia, and Oracle. The former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was also called Google a monopoly. Microsoft and Google ended the Android patent disagreements that have not even stopped the EU from investigating the original allegations.
However, the $5 billion fine dwarfs Google’s earlier $2.7 billion record-breaking fine from the EU last year over influenced search results. Still, Google is pleasing that scrupulous judgment in a back-and-forth which is expected to last years. Intel, Facebook, and Microsoft all are facing significant anti-competition fines from the European Commission. And the Microsoft was prominently fined twice by the EU when the software developer failed to include a browser ballot in the Windows 7 update. And Apple was also ordered to pay back $15.4 billion in taxes to the European Union.
Though the Android has been considered as the open-source software, but Google has been slowly adding the key components into its Google Play Services software also in its associated agreements. The anti-fragmentation agreements are available for keeping the manufacturers on the Google’s version of Android which most Android handsets now ship with the Google’s software and also services bundled on them.
But now the EU has ordered Google to stay to its judgment within the 90 days and also unbundle Chrome and search from its Android providing. With Google appealing the decision, then the lawful process is probably to run for many years ahead. While many had expected from the Google to face its own Microsoft moment and the EU doesn’t appear to be forcing any strong future which is an oversight on the Android or asking Google to transform its software for including a ballot for substitute browsers or search engines.
And the decision appears to be more about preventing Google from bundling its services to the Android, which forced the company to change Android considerably. Still, the phone makers will be free to bundle Chrome and Google search application only if they wish, but they even won’t be forced to do so, and they will also free to provide the devices with forked versions of the Android.
Source url :- https://www-mcafee-activate.com/google-fined-for-infringement-of-android-antitrust-violations/
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