Mass antitrust lawsuit against Google Android in Europe
Started by
eyecre8
, Apr 11 2013 12:05 PM
antitrust lawsuit android
9 replies to this topic
#1
Posted 11 April 2013 - 12:05 PM
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45 downloads
Google’s open approach to Android is certainly appreciated among companies like Facebook and Samsung. Thanks to Android’s willingness to be all things to all people.
Android’s low licensing fees have allowed companies such as Samsung to become the number one phone maker in the world and a serious contender against Google themselves.
Yet not everyone appreciates Google’s mobile open operating system. A couple days ago, 17 companies filed a complaint with European regulators about what
they feel are violations of antitrust laws perpetrated by Google’s Android business practices. These 17 companies – which include the likes of Kayak, Microsoft, Nokia and even some old rivals such as Oracle, Expedia, and TripAdvisor comprise the so-called FairSearch Coalition that brought the suit.
According to Strategy Analytics, Android ruled 70 percent of the market in 2012, while eMarketer report that Google overshadows a whopping 96% of the mobile
search advertising market. The FairSearch coalition claim that Google is monopolising the market by offering Android for free, but requiring a number of Google-owned apps
and products to be used for a full experience, such as Chrome, Maps, YouTube, or Google Play. The consortium said that this “disadvantages other providers” and
described Google's distribution of Android as “predatory.”
6.24KB 42 downloads
However, it could be argued that rival mobile platforms equally have access to features like Maps and YouTube, and Google Play is Android's own app market, and as such would obviously not be present on rival operating systems, anymore than Apple's App Store or Microsoft's Windows Phone Store would.
Thomas Vinje, Brussels-based counsel to the FairSearch coalition states “We are asking the Commission to move quickly and decisively to protect competition and innovation in this critical market. Failure to act will only embolden Google to repeat its desktop abuses of dominance as consumers increasingly turn to a mobile platform dominated by Google’s Android operating system.”
Google is already the subject of a two-year investigation in Europe for allegedly abusing its dominance in online search. Critics including Microsoft allege Google favors its
own services in search results. Google settled a similar probe by the Federal Trade Commission in January without making any major concessions.
University of Iowa law professor Herbert Hovenkamp said he had not yet read the complaint but said he severly doubted the lawsuite has much chance of success.
"It's been part of this group's strategy to complain about any Google venture that is either successful or has a robust chance of success," Hovenkamp said.
"So far there hasn't been any substance to these complaints that would suggest antitrust issues.
See related : FTC drops probe of Google Search in US:
23.48KB 37 downloads
Via:
Google’s open approach to Android is certainly appreciated among companies like Facebook and Samsung. Thanks to Android’s willingness to be all things to all people.
Android’s low licensing fees have allowed companies such as Samsung to become the number one phone maker in the world and a serious contender against Google themselves.
Yet not everyone appreciates Google’s mobile open operating system. A couple days ago, 17 companies filed a complaint with European regulators about what
they feel are violations of antitrust laws perpetrated by Google’s Android business practices. These 17 companies – which include the likes of Kayak, Microsoft, Nokia and even some old rivals such as Oracle, Expedia, and TripAdvisor comprise the so-called FairSearch Coalition that brought the suit.
According to Strategy Analytics, Android ruled 70 percent of the market in 2012, while eMarketer report that Google overshadows a whopping 96% of the mobile
search advertising market. The FairSearch coalition claim that Google is monopolising the market by offering Android for free, but requiring a number of Google-owned apps
and products to be used for a full experience, such as Chrome, Maps, YouTube, or Google Play. The consortium said that this “disadvantages other providers” and
described Google's distribution of Android as “predatory.”
6.24KB 42 downloads
However, it could be argued that rival mobile platforms equally have access to features like Maps and YouTube, and Google Play is Android's own app market, and as such would obviously not be present on rival operating systems, anymore than Apple's App Store or Microsoft's Windows Phone Store would.
Thomas Vinje, Brussels-based counsel to the FairSearch coalition states “We are asking the Commission to move quickly and decisively to protect competition and innovation in this critical market. Failure to act will only embolden Google to repeat its desktop abuses of dominance as consumers increasingly turn to a mobile platform dominated by Google’s Android operating system.”
Google is already the subject of a two-year investigation in Europe for allegedly abusing its dominance in online search. Critics including Microsoft allege Google favors its
own services in search results. Google settled a similar probe by the Federal Trade Commission in January without making any major concessions.
University of Iowa law professor Herbert Hovenkamp said he had not yet read the complaint but said he severly doubted the lawsuite has much chance of success.
"It's been part of this group's strategy to complain about any Google venture that is either successful or has a robust chance of success," Hovenkamp said.
"So far there hasn't been any substance to these complaints that would suggest antitrust issues.
See related : FTC drops probe of Google Search in US:
23.48KB 37 downloads
Via:
- cryptociph3r likes this
My name is Eyecre8 and I approve this message!
#2
Posted 11 April 2013 - 12:44 PM
trolololo
I'm from the internet and so can you!
#3
Posted 11 April 2013 - 01:34 PM
trolololo
????? Please clarify,what's funny who's trolling, confused?
#4
Posted 11 April 2013 - 02:04 PM
I really don't get how Euro thinks there are so many anti-trust issues. Having a piece of software pre-installed but having nothing making it mandatory to use is not an issue. If they are worried about companies trying to monopolize a market, why not go after the ones known to remove products that compete with their own from the market (Apple, although they seem to be improving on this) or those that are simply extremely prohibitive like a dumbphone? I don't remember my old phones every giving me the option to use another dialer than the ones that were built in, why did nobody get sued then? For that sake, my toaster oven didn't come with the option to use a knob made by a different manufacturer, so they are clearly 'monopolizing' my toaster oven features. Natural monopolies are the result of superior business, constantly trying to fight against them is literally trying to prevent companies from providing high quality products.
- cryptociph3r, eyecre8 and nakedtime like this
#5
Posted 11 April 2013 - 02:51 PM
They're sore losers! Not to mention, MS is @#$% hypocrite. The market has spoken and it likes Google and its services.
- eyecre8 likes this
#6
Posted 11 April 2013 - 03:57 PM
Good God, what a bunch of malarkey. "Predatory" distribution of services, that one made me laugh. I will be curious to so how his one plays out.
- eyecre8 likes this
#7
Posted 11 April 2013 - 05:24 PM
This is the problem with the world... Google does something great and gives us an operating system that is opensource, that can be hacked and tweaked by developers to make it partially their own. Android is known for this. That's one of the main reasons people buy android. And obviously google is going to put its own programs on its operating system, that's just what you do! If android ends up monopolizing the market, which problem won't happen because 3/4 of the population are now "hipsters" and think iPhone's are cool,then honestly it would deserve it! Not many other companies will just put software out like that, especially in such a hard market. Google has given us great services and now people are just pissed that its becoming the future... There's a reason for that, their $#!+ actually works and it does what they say it does. In my opinion, google can own the future of electronics, I wouldn't be too upset about it.
- Daino92 likes this
#8
Posted 11 April 2013 - 06:09 PM
This post is a joke. No?????? Please clarify,what's funny who's trolling, confused?
** edit
First!!1!11!!
I'm from the internet and so can you!
#9 Guest_DirtyDroidX_*
Posted 11 April 2013 - 06:26 PM
This is retarded plain and simple.
#10
Posted 11 April 2013 - 06:38 PM
This post is a joke. No?
** edit
First!!1!11!!
idk, Its news..
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