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Posted on: Jul 18, 2018 8:00 am Last update: Jul 18, 2018 21:15 pm
BRUSSELS (AP) – European regulators have clashed with another American technology giant on Wednesday, imposing to Google a record $ 5 billion to force cell phone manufacturers who use the company's Android operating system to install Google search and navigation applications.
The European Union has stated that Google's practices limit competition and reduce choices for consumers. could undermine the business model of the company, which relies on the abandonment of its operating system in exchange for advertising opportunities and other products.
Google immediately declared that it would appeal, arguing that its free Apple operating system has created competition with its main competitor, Apple.
Android has "created more choices for everyone, no less," tweeted Google CEO Sundar Pichai
Google has 90 days to put in place remedies regardless of its appeal that could involve unbundling applications keys and allow Android phone manufacturers to sell devices using modified versions of Android.
Mozilla Foundation, the non-profit group that creates the Firefox-blocking lightweight browser, announces that the decision gives it the opportunity to move Chrome as the default browser in some phones. Denise Dixon, chief operating officer of Mozilla, said Wednesday
that the decision creates "a huge opportunity,"
It is also possible that little will change. Google Search, Chrome and the Play Store are popular with consumers and developers. "It's possible that the phone makers are not taking advantage of the new freedom that they have," said Thomas Vinje, senior attorney at FairSearch, the Brussels-based lobbying group backed by Oracle. and others who were the main plaintiff in the case. "That opens at least the possibility."
The fine, which caps a three-year investigation, is the largest ever imposed on a company by the EU for anti-competitive behavior.
The decision could stir up tensions between Europe and the United States, which regulate the technology industry with a lighter hand.
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut tweeted that the fine should "be an alarm signal" to the Federal Trade Commission and should prompt US law enforcement to protect consumers . Blumenthal has already asked regulators to investigate how Google tracks Android phone users.
In its decision, the EU said Google was breaking the rules by forcing mobile phone makers to take a package of Google apps they wanted. The bundle contains 11 apps, including YouTube, Google Maps and Gmail, but regulators focus on the three largest market shares: Google Search, Chrome and the company's app store, called Play Store.
The EU also challenged Google's payments She also said Google was breaking the law by forcing manufacturers who took its apps to commit to not selling devices using Google modified versions of Android. [
] 19659003] Regardless of the ongoing appeal, the failure to find remedies to rectify behavior after 90 days risks a further penalty of up to $ 15 million per day.
Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Google's crackdown comes at a critical juncture for transatlantic relations, with President Donald Trump accusing the EU of being an "enemy" last week. The United States has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum from the EU this year and the European Union has responded by imposing duties on US products. "We need to protect consumers and competition to ensure consumers fair competition". "We will continue to do so, regardless of the political context."
The penalty is added to a fine of 2.42 billion euros ($ 2.8 billion) imposed on Google a year ago for promoting its shopping lists in Search results.
No fine will paralyze the company. Google Alphabet has made a profit of $ 9.4 billion in the first three months of the year and cash reserves of more than $ 100 billion
"What is important, it 's important. is that Google is changing abusive behavior ". the competing search engine Kelkoo.
Android is technically an open-source operating system that Google allows cell phone manufacturers to use for free. As a result, it is the most widely used system, beating widely the Apple iOS.
The EU wants to make sure that phone manufacturers are free to pre-install the apps of their choice. He also wants cell phone manufacturers to be able to more easily use modified versions of Android, such as the Amazon Fire operating system.
Amazon and Samsung, makers of the popular Galaxy phone line, declined to comment on this decision. argues that downloads are easy and that if the inclusion of its suite of applications helps phones to function properly, competitors' applications are at hand.
It also argues that the fact of not supporting the "split" versions of Android a base of experience on some 24,000 different models of Android devices. Vestager has qualified the compatibility argument of "smoke screen".
The EU has repeatedly confronted Microsoft over the years, imposing fines on it for its bundling practices and promotion. from its Internet Explorer browser
In 2016, the EU ruled that Apple was receiving preferential treatment from the Irish government and asked it to pay $ 15 billion in back taxes . The EU is also mingled with Amazon and Intel.
European regulators have also taken a tougher stance on data privacy. After the scandal this spring involving the misuse of Facebook users' personal data during the US presidential election and other campaigns, the EU has begun to apply new, tougher rules .
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Nakashima reported from Menlo Park, California. The writers of Associated Press Matt O. Brien in Providence, R.I .; Nick Jesdanun in New York; and Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this story.
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