Google's fine could lead to Android bifurcations

The European Commission (EC) fined Google $ 4,340 million to force manufacturers and smartphone operators to respect the terms of the contract that the Commission considered anti-competitive.

The EC said that Google dominates the market markets for general Internet search services, licensed mobile operating systems and application stores for Android mobile operating system , and has been involved in three distinct practices, all aimed at consolidating its dominant position in general Internet searches.

In a blog reaction to fine, Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote: "The decision ignores the fact that Android phones compete with iOS phones, something that% of interviewees in the Commission's market research confirmed that also did not have the choice that Android offers to thousands of manufacturers [194] 59008] of phones and d & # 39; 39 mobile network operators who create and sell Android devices; to millions of app developers around the world who have grown their business with Android; "

" Thanks to Android, a typical phone comes with up to 40 applications from multiple developers, not just from the company from which you bought it.If you prefer other applications (or browsers or search engines) to preloaded applications you can Easily disable or delete them and choose from other apps, including apps from some of the 1.6 million Europeans who make a living as developers. applications. "

But Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, said Google has forced manufacturers to install their Android operating system, Chrome browser, Google Play Store and Google Search on all Android smartphones. [19659003] discovered that Google has made payments to some major manufacturers and mobile network operators on the condition that they pre-install exclude the Google search application on their devices.He also stated that Google had prevented the Manufacturers wishing to pre-install Google applications to sell even a single intelligent mobile device running on alternative versions, or forks () open-source Android operating system, which "

Commenting on Google's anti-competitive contracts, Vestager said: "Amazon has developed an Android range and would like manufacturers to use it, but this n & # 39; It's not possible. "

EC has received complaints about Google since 2011 and has been investigating the company's domain on smartphones since 2015. Preliminary results of its research indicate that Google has implemented a strategy on mobile devices to preserve and strengthen its field in global research. Internet

At that time, Kent Walker, senior vice president of Google, wrote io on his blog: "We are concerned that the preliminary findings of the Commission underestimate The importance of developers and the dangers of fragmentation in a mobile ecosystem. The developers – and at least 1.3 million of them in Europe in 2015 – depend on a stable and consistent framework to do their job. "

" Any phone builder can download Android and modify it as he sees fit. But this flexibility makes Android vulnerable to fragmentation, a problem that has plagued previous operating systems, such as Unix and Symbian. "

" When someone can change his code, how do you make sure that there is a common version and consistent operating system, so that developers do not have to go through the hbadle and cost of building multiple versions of their apps? "

Walker said that the European Commission's proposal could worsen fragmentation, damaging the Android platform and the mobile phone contest.

Commenting on the fine ] which is the biggest that the EC has ever imposed Vestager said: "Rivals can not find a place on an Android phone. Very few people will use another search engine. Since mobile search traffic accounts for almost half of Internet searches, it is very difficult to develop your own search engine. "

Vestager said that the EC wanted Google to remove contractual restrictions.Mobile operators will be able to freely choose and if someone develops a new Android fork, the smartphone maker may choose it", was he said. This will give consumers a greater choice, added the commissioner.

Although there are more than 450 million people in the EU with an existing Android phone, the fine reflects past behavior, said Vestager. As such, users Existing Android smartphones will not have an operating system option. "Google must stop doing what is illegal" He said. "The fine reflects the behavior of the past, which must change in the future."

When asked if Google should be divided, Vest Ager said: "I do not know if that would help if there was more competition if Google broke apart.What will make the difference, is to have more players, so that consumers may have new search and navigation engines, allowing others to be competitive on the merits would allow competition. "

Google has had a series of clashes with competition authorities, which has leads to the imposition of fines.

In June of last year, the EC fined Google with 2.42 billion euros for violating EU antitrust rules, deciding that Google had abused its dominant position in the market as a search engine by giving an unlawful advantage to another Google product, its comparison service

At that time, Vestager said: "Google's strategy for its store comparison service "Was not only to attract customers by improving their product compared to their competitors". Instead, Google abused its dominant position in the marketplace by promoting its own shopping comparison service in its search results and degrading those of its competitors. "

And in 2016, the research giant in Russia and it was discovered that he acted in an anti-competitive manner The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service condemned Google $ 6.8 million to force smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google applications on their Android devices It is understood that Russia has forced Google to send an update to all Android users in the country.