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Google Faces Anti-Trust Probe In Russia Over Android

Posted by samzenpus on from the taking-a-good-look dept.

First time accepted submitter Mark Wilson writes Google has a new battle on its hands, this time in the form of a potential anti-trust probe in Russia. Yandex, the internet company behind the eponymous Russian search engine, has filed a complaint to the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS). Yandex claims that the US search giant is abusing its position by bundling Google services with Android. It claims that users are forced into using the Google ecosystem including Google Search, and that it is difficult to install competing services on smartphones and tablets. There are distinct echoes of the antitrust lawsuits Microsoft has faced for its bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows.

4 of 149 comments (clear)

  1. Google on the way down? by Futurepower(R) · · Score: 1, Interesting

    For me, it is very, very sad, but Google seems to be becoming a very abusive company. The days of "Do no evil" seem to be ended.

    1. Re:Google on the way down? by bloodhawk · · Score: 3, Interesting

      For me, it is very, very sad, but Google seems to be becoming a very abusive company. The days of "Do no evil" seem to be ended.

      Those days never really existed except in the minds of those that believed the marketing dribble.

  2. Re:Is Google a monopoly? by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Or are the rules different in Russia, that you don't have to be a monopoly in order to come under antitrust regulations?

    Somehow, I see this as a reaction to the sanctions imposed over the Ukraine mess. I think that someone in Russia is thinking that hitting Google will hurt the US Government in some way....

    --

    "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
  3. Re:you can buy android without google over there.. by Richard_at_work · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The problem is not that you can't ship with Google products, its that you can't ship with *some* Google products - if you want the Play store, you have to also have X, Y and Z - oh, and you must also send all search traffic to Google as well.

    So basically, you either get to bundle the best app store and go fully Google, or you get to cause your end users issues by bundling the second best app store but get to use your own solutions for other things such as search.

    Why should Google be allowed to tie the search provider for the phone to the app store provider for the phone? That's the kind of thing Microsoft got shat on for.