Google will charge smartphone manufacturers a license fee for Google Play in Europe

The US tech giant Google will charge smartphone manufacturers a fee for using its famous Google Play app store and will also allow them to use competing versions of its mobile operating system. Android to comply with an EU antitrust order.

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, announced the changes on Tuesday, three months after the European Commission fined it a historic $ 4.34 billion ($ 5 billion) for used its Android mobile operating system, a popular tool, to hinder the competition.

The company stated that the license fees would offset the revenue losses resulting from its compliance efforts.

"Since the pre-installation of Google Search and Chrome, as well as our other apps, allowed us to fund the free development and distribution of Android, we will introduce a new fee-based license agreement for smartphones and tablets delivered in the EEA, "said Hiroshi Lockheimer, vice president president of the platforms and ecosystems, said in a blog.

The European Economic Area (EEA) comprises the 28 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Manufacturers using Google Play and other Google services such as Gmail, YouTube and Maps can also install the free Google Search app and the Chrome browser.

"Android partners wanting to distribute Google apps can also build smartphones and tablets that are not compatible or ready for EEE," Lockheimer said.

The changes will apply from October 29 to all new smartphones and tablets sold in the EEA.

The EU antitrust authorities, in their July ruling, said Google's anti-competitive behavior, dating back to 2011, had notably forced smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and its Chrome browser and smartphone store. Google Play apps on their Android devices.

Another illegal tactic was to pay manufacturers to preinstall only Google Search and prevent them from using rival Android systems.