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Google Fined For Breaking Russian Antitrust Rules With Android (seekingalpha.com)

Posted by msmash on from the difficult-customers dept.

Google has been fined a sum of $6.75 million for competition violations by Russia's antimonopoly watchdog on Thursday. The antimonopoly body accused U.S. technology company Google of forcing retailers to install and keep a suite of its app on mobile phones that were sold on the Russian market. SeekingAlpha adds: Google was found last October to have violated rules related to the objection. The fine amount was determined as a portion of Google Play sales in the country, though an exact breakdown has not been disclosed. An appeal of the case is set to continue August 16 and talks to settle the matter amicably are additionally said to be under consideration. Google has also run into antitrust issues with the European Commission in recent months.

26 comments

  1. Pocket change! by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 3, Interesting

    That's less than they owe taxes in Liechtenstein!

    --

    Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

  2. Apparently antitrust is a small claims court thing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    $6.75 million?

  3. typical by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Attack the big guy with money, even if they did nothing wrong. Threaten their ability to do business in your country. Blackmail them in effect.

    1. Re:typical by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Isn't SOP in .ru?

  4. 6.7 meeeellion dollars! by Citizen+of+Earth · · Score: 2

    fined a sum of $6.75 million

    I don't understand this. I expected a fine from hurting Russia on a rich company like Google to a multi-billion dollar budget-filler. This piddling fine is more like a wink and a nod to keep "breaking the 'law'" (let's pretend Putin's Russia has Law).

    1. Re:6.7 meeeellion dollars! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      It is now about money. It is about beating Google into submission, one slap at a time. Now, if Google keeps resisting just watch the fines increase. And if that does not do the trick, watch the injunctions come in making doing business in Russia neigh impossible for Google. Basically this is China 2.0 for Google, but this time Google will do anything to avoid being shown the door.

    2. Re:6.7 meeeellion dollars! by Nidi62 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It is now about money. It is about beating Google into submission, one slap at a time. Now, if Google keeps resisting just watch the fines increase. And if that does not do the trick, watch the injunctions come in making doing business in Russia neigh impossible for Google.

      No, Russia will just force Google to do business in Russia through a company that is owned by someone who coincidentally owns the dacha right next to Putin's.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    3. Re: 6.7 meeeellion dollars! by fubarrr · · Score: 1

      6.7 megabucks is an insanely huge sum for Russia. One can live carelessly with this sum for 10^1.3e years in Russia.

    4. Re:6.7 meeeellion dollars! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      8.75 million + a percentage of ALL google play store purchases in Russia... which is probably a lot of money.

  5. No longer news for nerds by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Slashdot can no longer call itself news for nerds if a story about Russia does not have any comments that start with:

    In Soviet Russia...

    Ex: In Soviet Russia, Google searches you.

    --
    "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    1. Re:No longer news for nerds by danomac · · Score: 1

      Where is the "Sad but True" mod. Google basically does search us.

    2. Re:No longer news for nerds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Slashdot can no longer call itself news for nerds if a story about Russia does not have any comments that start with:

      In Soviet Russia...

      Ex: In Soviet Russia, Google searches you.

      You know, you could have done it. Be the change you wish to see and all that.

    3. Re:No longer news for nerds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Soviet Russia, antitrust googles you.

      In Soviet Russia, Google antitrusts you.

      In Soviet Russia, Android bricks you.

      In Soviet Russia, monopolies fine you.

      In Soviet Russia, rules violate you.

      Happy now?

  6. In Soviet Russia... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Industry monopolize you!

  7. Crappy market ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why? Because Russian shit companies can't come up with anything besides hackers to look for holes in shit? It's not google's fault Russians can't come up with their own marketable phone operating system.

  8. extortion by l3v1 · · Score: 1

    It's just typical govt bullying, using their powers to get just enough money out of companies' pockets that they will consider paying for the idiots to go away.

    "Google of forcing retailers to install and keep a suite of its app on mobile phones"

    Well, Google could stop "forcing" (yeah, people are stupid, but in such cases it's on purpose) Android on others, even better, could stop giving it away, buy out some manufacturer, build their own Nexus lines and let all other phone makers die in pain. Imagine that :)

    --
    I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
  9. Apple? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given that Apple devices don't allow retailers to install custom applications, it seems like Russia should go after Apple as well.

  10. Convenient way to get a few million by ArtemaOne · · Score: 1

    There's no way Google will resist such a small fine in such a large market. This will be seen as the cost of good business, same as Microsoft went through with IE.

  11. Russia Has an Antimonopoly Watchdog? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gee, it's too bad they don't have a Oligopoly watchdog. If they had, maybe Russia would have fared better after the collapse of the USSR.

    Perhaps instead of making up names, they should call themselves the bill collectors for Google's fair share of Russia's corrupt government taxes. If Hillary gets elected, we'll have the same thing here in the USA.

    LOL! Captcha: violator

  12. THIS makes sense. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google is a US spy corporation. Russia is against US spy corporations.

  13. This isn't about antitrust. by tlambert · · Score: 2

    This isn't about antitrust.

    If Google pays the fine, they admit the Russian court has jurisdiction.
    If Google fights the fine in court, they admit the Russian court has jurisdiction.

    It's a camel's nose in the jurisdictional tent, since they could just waltz into court, and say "The only reason they have the apps installed is because they want to use the 'Android' trademark; fine: call it 'Robotizirovannyy' or whatever the hell else you want to call it other than the trademark, and you're good to go".

    This is about Russia's recent laws on cryptographic communications being required to be able to be eavesdropped upon by the FSB (Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation) and SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service), and about device data being decryptable.

    The apps are relevant because the browser includes HTTPS, and GMail, YouTube, and other apps use strong encryption.

    They are basically trying to force the strong cryptography "gone", or (minimally) force it "off by default", or (preferably) backdoor the hell out of it.

    There's a reason that Google closed down the Chrome/ChromeOS group in Moscow on 14 Dec 2014.

    https://www.theguardian.com/wo...

    1. Re:This isn't about antitrust. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It is US spy agency vs Russia spy agency. With Slashdot under control of the FBI, you get the US propaganda here.

      Google is a US spy agency with global reach. Not even covert.

  14. Olbigatory by Chewbacon · · Score: 1

    In Soviet Russia, Google find [sic] you!

    --
    Chewbacon
    The Bible is like Wikipedia: written by a bunch of people and verifiable by questionable sources.