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Google Found Guilty of "Abusing Dominant Market Position" In Russia
An anonymous reader writes: Russia's anti-monopoly regulator has ruled that Google has violated Russian antitrust laws by requiring that manufacturers pre-install its services on their devices. Stock in Russian search firm Yandex has soared since the ruling. Cnet reports: "The agency, Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service, has 10 days to issue a full ruling. In the ruling, Russia can outline adjustments to Google's agreements with mobile device manufacturers, according to the translated statement. But while Google was found guilty of market abuses, a Russian antitrust regulator told The Wall Street Journal the Mountain View, California-based company wasn't found guilty of 'unfair competition practices.' 'We haven't yet received the ruling,' a Google spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. 'When we do, we will study it and determine our next steps.'"
This goes in line with the current Russian policy to bash on western interests. Though, I'm pretty sure the EU will now use this decision as a precedent to extort money from Google in their own "anti-trust" propaganda, quoting it as a "precedent".
That being said, it's weird that nobody has yet targeted Apple, who is certainly an order of magnitude more restrictive than Google, and is as much, or more loaded than Google...
In Soviet Russia market dominate YOU
SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
Speaking hypothetically; how many here believe that the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service would have taken a similar action if a Russian company with ties to the Russian oligarchs did the same thing that Google is accused of? Anyone?
Once you realize how corrupt Russia is, then the answer is obvious: Yes, they would if someone paid off the right people, which is probably what happened here - that and Putin's current NIHIR (Not-Invented-Here-In-Russia) policies...
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away. - Elvis Presley (source: imdb.com)
I think that Google just needs to withdraw their services from countries who pull this crap. Let them build their own search/map/code-hosting/whatever services on their own. When you open a page to google.com, you are on Google s front lawn. I for one, fully expect them to post their own signage on their properties.