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Peter Holden
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Remember last year when Russia decided that Google’s policy on having its own apps front and centre on Android smartphones was anti-competitive? Well, naturally Google appealed the FAS ruling that it had broken Russia’s anti-monopoly laws, but it seems that Moscow’s Arbitration Court doesn’t agree with the search giant and has instead upheld the original decision.
The original complaint was brought by Russia’s largest search provider, Yandex, claiming that Google is effectively stopping local vendors from pre-installing competing services onto Android devices. According to Yandex’s complaint, the company wants Google’s pre-installed apps such as search, maps, email, etc., to be unbundled from the Android OS. Basically, Yandex is upset that it isn’t the first port of call in Russia when it comes to services and search.
Now that its appeal has been rebuffed, Google is facing a fine that could be as much as 15% of its Russian revenue from 2014, as well as amending its contracts with smartphone manufacturers to comply with the ruling.
It seems that the world’s most popular mobile operating system is also the world’s favourite cash cow, with everyone wanting a slice of the revenue. One of the next obstacles facing Google is the European Union that is likely to file anti-competition charges against Google and its parent company, Alphabet. In case you don’t recall, the EU was also upset about Google pre-installing its apps and services within the Android OS.
Source: Reuters
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