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Google faces EU charge over Android 'abuse of dominance'
binary
20-04-2016
BBC News article

Quote:
“Google has been issued formal antitrust charges over claims that it abuses the dominant position of its Android operating system.

The European Commission sent a statement of objections to the tech firm, alleging that it has breached EU competition law.

Google is accused of placing onerous requirements on firms using Android and stifling competition.
...”

Everything Goes
20-04-2016
Margrethe Vestager is also dealing with the Three and O2 merger. Looks like she is happy to kick ass. Google have 12 weeks to respond. Google will need to sort out these issues ASAP or the EU will be collecting some nice large fines. Obama has accused the EU of protectionism.

Quote:
“That probe has drawn the ire of many in the US, including President Obama, who all-but accused the EU of protectionism. Speaking with Recode, Obama said that "sometimes the European response here is more commercially driven than anything else." He added that "oftentimes what [are] portrayed as high-minded positions on issues sometimes [are] just designed to carve out some of their commercial interests." It's unlikely that Obama, or any other detractors, are going to be very pleased with the Commission moving forward with a second case.”

http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/20/g...of-objections/
MTUK1
21-04-2016
Good to see the EU encouraging trade and investment. Not.
technoflare
21-04-2016
If firms don't like Android then develop something else. Android is fragmented enough without makers offering more diverse options. Amazon and others have forked with some success, I thought it was quite an open system. is it Goggle's fault that Tizan, Symbian, WebOs, FirefoxOS, BB have failed? Are Apple being told to offer alternates to Safari on IPhone with ability to remove it?
Richard_T
21-04-2016
Instead of forcing people to use Google apps and Google play, maybe they could open the system up to others, such as amazon so they too could have a platform to sell apps and games directly on the android platform.
How do things like third party app stores work on other platforms?
Gigabit
21-04-2016
I don't understand this argument. You can run any app you like on Android. It's an open-source platform. That means there are many places to get apps, including from Amazon!
SkipTracer
21-04-2016
I hope the outcome of this is that we can uninstall all the Google bloat from our phones with the likes of Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Books, Google Games, Google Movie & TV, Google Music, Google Newsstand, Talkback, Text to Speech and on and on and on and on.

You need unlimited mobile data just to keep this bloat ware up to date.
Roush
21-04-2016
Originally Posted by Gigabit:
“I don't understand this argument. You can run any app you like on Android. It's an open-source platform. That means there are many places to get apps, including from Amazon!”

It's about manufacturers having to accept the pre-installation of Google's products as the default search engine and app store and the conditions on the manufacturers of using Google's own suite of apps.

In terms of consumer impact, it's not too dissimilar to the situation Microsoft found themselves in with Windows & Internet Explorer.
Stiggles
21-04-2016
Originally Posted by SkipTracer:
“I hope the outcome of this is that we can uninstall all the Google bloat from our phones with the likes of Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Books, Google Games, Google Movie & TV, Google Music, Google Newsstand, Talkback, Text to Speech and on and on and on and on.

You need unlimited mobile data just to keep this bloat ware up to date.”

No you don't.

The apps or a start are pretty damn small and also only update maybe monthly.

If you dont like them, just disable them!
IvanIV
21-04-2016
Yes, they all have to get the same treatment, MS, Google, or anybody else with a dominant position on a certain market segment. You have a dominant position, special rules apply.
IvanIV
21-04-2016
Originally Posted by Everything Goes:
“Obama has accused the EU of protectionism. ”

So somebody from Google called him.
Everything Goes
21-04-2016
Originally Posted by IvanIV:
“So somebody from Google called him.”

Its reported that Obama will tell the UK to vote to stay in the EU. Oh the irony.....
Roush
21-04-2016
Originally Posted by IvanIV:
“So somebody from Google called him.”

No, the quotes attributed to him in the Engadget article are over a year old and refer to EC investigations into user privacy.
technoflare
21-04-2016
The difference between this and MS is that Android is an open system so if firms want to develop a forked system like Amazon did they can. If they however want to sell a device with full compatibility with Google Play store etc then they need to get some of the other apps too as they integrate with the gmail account and settings. As for Chrome I can see why an option to install it or an alternative as a default browser would be good but Chrome integrates with voice, now, maps and other so is needed really for the customers to have a seamless experience. Failing that develop a rival system that actually works...unlike Windows Mobile!
IvanIV
21-04-2016
They just need to make Google apps removable and be done with that. Or make a screen where you are asked if you want to install them. That should make EU happy.
MTUK1
21-04-2016
Originally Posted by IvanIV:
“They just need to make Google apps removable and be done with that. Or make a screen where you are asked if you want to install them. That should make EU happy.”

They shouldn't need to do anything. Did you vote for the EU to decide on things like this? I didn't.
IvanIV
21-04-2016
Originally Posted by MTUK1:
“They shouldn't need to do anything. Did you vote for the EU to decide on things like this? I didn't.”

Oh please. There are many things you did not vote personally and individually for and not only on EU level.
MTUK1
21-04-2016
Originally Posted by IvanIV:
“Oh please. There are many things you did not vote personally and individually for and not only on EU level.”

LOL! Hilarious. Not one person alive right now voted for us to belong to the EU.
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