FTC Probes Android and Google Search

bonch writes "The FTC is investigating claims that Google prevented Android smartphone vendors from using competing services (covered previously), whether Google preferentially places its own services above others on the search results page, and whether Google scraped content from competitors for use in its own services. FTC lawyers are also asking how Android may be helping Google maintain its massive web search lead. Google denies all allegations and blames jealous rivals for the growing number of probes. The European Commission's own antitrust probe is ongoing."

Comments

Finally

[zget]

It did take time but finally someone is putting a stop to Google's monopolistic business strategies. I'm surprised they would repeat exactly the same mistakes Microsoft did in the 90's. Preventing Android smartphone vendors from using other services than Google's is exactly the same kind of deal and is highly anti-competitive, as is their favoring of their own services above competing ones.

Anti-competitive laws are exactly this - you should not use your monopoly in another area to gain unfair advantage in other market. What you especially should not do is prevent vendors from using other providers. Google has been doing all of this, but they do it really sneakily. Most of their marketing is really wise social engineering, the best example of being constant bombardment to download and switch to Chrome if you use IE.

Just because Google offers services for free and gets paid for them via advertisements and privacy violating data mining doesn't mean they can get away with everything. Most slashdotters seem to be blinded by the whole free and supposedly open thing, while most of their products are actually closed.