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(qlmbusinessnews.com via theguardian.com – – Wed, 18th July 2018) London, Uk – –
Company made its search engine the default on most phones using operating system
Google could be hit with a record fine by the European Union’s competition authorities on Wednesday for abusing its market dominance in mobile phone operating systems.
The company risks a multibillion-euro penalty for making the Google search engine the default on most phones using its Android operating system.
Citing people familiar with the case, the Financial Times reported that the fine is likely to exceed the €2.4bn (£2.1bn) penalty imposed by the European commission in 2017 when Google was found to have used its dominant search engine to build its internet shopping service. Google is appealing against that decision. The EU regulator could fine Google up to 10% of its turnover, or some €11bn.
Wednesday’s verdict will end a 39-month investigation by the European commission’s competition authorities into Google’s Android operating system. , the commission accused the company of abusing its market dominance on three counts. First, by installing Google search as the default search engine on Android devices; second, preventing smartphone manufacturers from running competing systems; third, denying consumer choice, by giving financial incentives to manufacturers and mobile phone operators to pre-install Google Search.
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In response, Google has said users are free to delete its apps. The company has mounted a strong defence of its open-source Android operating system, saying it “keeps manufacturers’ costs low and their flexibility high, while giving consumers unprecedented control of their mobile devices”.
The decision could raise tensions with the US government before a visit to the White House by the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, next week. Juncker will meet the US president, Donald Trump, on 25 July for talks on the economy, counter-terrorism, energy security, foreign policy and security.
According to Reuters, the competition authorities delayed the Google announcement by one week to avoid a clash with the Nato summit, where Trump lambasted the US’s European allies.
By Jenniffer Rankin
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