The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) said Tuesday that Google is being accused of abusing its market power and causing harm to users by forcing them to use its own mobile operating system, the Android operating system.
It said that the company has implemented measures preventing Russian businesses from creating mobile apps for use on iOS and Android platforms.
Google was previously hit with a record $7 billion fine from FAS in 2017.
Google has also been hit with an additional $57 million fine for using its mobile operating system to challenge the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service in a case filed by Yandex, Russia’s top search engine.
The FAS has fined Google $7.8 million for abusing its market power and causing harm to users by not allowing other mobile phone makers to use its Android operating system.
It also fined the company $111,000 for using the mobile OS to challenge the FAS in a case filed by Yandex, Russia’s biggest search engine.
FAS says the Android OS has caused harm to users because it has been blocked by Google from being used on mobile devices running the iOS operating system.
“In the case against Google, it’s about preventing users from freely choosing among mobile applications,” FAS Deputy Head Igor Artemyev said, as cited by RBC.
The FAS also hit Google with another $152,000 fine for breaking Russia’s ban on using local advertising platforms for apps created on Apple’s iOS platform.
Its competition watchdog has taken issue with Google since 2017, when it fined it $7.8 million for requiring Android phone makers to pre-install the company’s app store and internet browser apps.
Google was also fined $8.6 million last year for discriminating against rival services while offering advertisers preference in its Google AdSense program. The FAS said the firm used its search engine and its Android OS to boost its advertising revenue and to punish websites that competed with Google’s own search services.
Search is one of Google’s biggest cash cows. It also provides a platform that allows businesses to conduct web searches and even sell their services in the same search results.
The tech giant’s cash pile makes it by far the world’s most valuable private company. Alphabet owns Google and several other popular tech companies, such as YouTube and Google Cloud.
The $22.7 billion company had revenues of $110.3 billion in 2017, making it more valuable than Royal Dutch Shell and Berkshire Hathaway. It is expected to turn profitable for the first time this year, according to the firm’s last earnings report.
FAS says its cases are now in the hands of the courts.
Sergey Dorenko, the agency’s deputy head, said Google’s cases were being heard by the Moscow City Court, which will rule later this year.
FAS has also fined Apple and Microsoft over similar issues.
Apple was fined $929 million in May by FAS for requiring its app store and iOS operating system to only be used on iPhones and iPads.
Microsoft was fined $1.25 million in December for using its Windows operating system to promote its Office apps on Android devices.
Google may not be the only company hit with fines. In January, Amazon faced a $30 million fine for illegally selling e-books on Apple’s iBooks Store.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview with Bloomberg in January that the company is willing to pay the fine.
Google’s parent company Alphabet posted revenues of $110.3 billion in 2017, making it the most valuable private company in the world. It will turn profitable for the first time this year, according to its latest earnings report.
You must be logged in to post a comment.