Google fined $5 billion by EU for Android practices

[AlphaWolf]

Duck Duck Go.

 

[Gubbi]

Why not read the EU's press release here

Besides the fines, it opens Google up for litigation by parties that may have been harmed by the illegal practices. The biggest of these are probably Microsoft/Bing.

Cheers

 

[homerdog]

Why not read the EU's press release here

Besides the fines, it opens Google up for litigation by parties that may have been harmed by the illegal practices. The biggest of these are probably Microsoft/Bing.

Cheers

Lol Microsoft suing for monopolistic practices? Where is the eating popcorn emoji?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Google must now bring the conduct effectively to an end within 90 days or face penalty payments of up to 5% of the average daily worldwide turnover of Alphabet, Google's parent company.

If the losses from obeying the rules are greater than a 5% drop in turnover, they should just pay the fine. That'd be funny!

Also...

When Google develops a new version of Android it publishes the source code online. This in principle allows third parties to download and modify this code to create Android forks. The openly accessible Android source code covers basic features of a smart mobile operating system but not Google's proprietary Android apps and services. Device manufacturers who wish to obtain Google's proprietary Android apps and services need to enter into contracts with Google, as part of which Google imposes a number of restrictions. Google also entered into contracts and applied some of these restrictions to certain large mobile network operators, who can also determine which apps and services are installed on devices sold to end users.

So surely now Google can just stop releasing Android source and make it a licensed product. They're under no obligation to provide Android source or allow development forks.

And lastly...

This also shows that users do not download competing apps in numbers that can offset the significant commercial advantage derived through pre-installation. For example, in 2016:

• on Android devices (with Google Search and Chrome pre-installed) more than 95% of all search queries were made via Google Search; and
• on Windows Mobile devices (Google Search and Chrome are not pre-installed) less than 25% of all search queries were made via Google Search. More than 75% of search queries happened on Microsoft's Bing search engine, which is pre-installed on Windows Mobile devices.

That's because we really don't give a shit! It's a browser, a tool. Does it work? Yes. Job done. No-one liked the forced Browser choice of Windows (which has now been dropped and Edge is present in Windows but that's apparently okay) and no-one's going to like getting a new phone and either having some other browser or having to download Chrome first.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

If the losses from obeying the rules are greater than a 5% drop in turnover, they should just pay the fine. That'd be funny!

Google must pay the fine and change their practices. The fine is for past wrongdoing, changing their practices will prevent future fines for failing to following the ruling and the EU can just ratchet those up with compounding until Google are broke.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

... EU can just ratchet those up with compounding until Google are broke.

Or Google withdraws from the EU market. That's not a particularly good option however as the EU is still one of the top 3 markets in the world (NA, EU, China

Regards,
SB

 

[BRiT]

Does the United Kingdom/Great Britian count as the EU market, what with Brexit? Do they get any of the spoils of this massive fine?

 

[Shifty Geezer]

UK's getting hit with a £39 billion ($51 billion) 'divorce bill'. This Google fine is pocket change compared to what the EU wants from the UK! The EU is basically like a very expensive girlfriend...

 

[Laurent06]

UK's getting hit with a £39 billion ($51 billion) 'divorce bill'. This Google fine is pocket change compared to what the EU wants from the UK! The EU is basically like a very expensive girlfriend...

It's not what the EU wants from the UK, it's what the UK owes the EU. When you sign contracts you can't just leave and turn your back, you know.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Or Google withdraws from the EU market. That's not a particularly good option however as the EU is still one of the top 3 markets in the world (NA, EU, China

And it's not just a case of Google putting a ring-fence around the EU, Google would need to put in place measures to prevent any their services in the world serving EU citizens wherever they may be. That's trickier.

It's not what the EU wants from the UK, it's what the UK owes the EU. When you sign contracts you can't just leave and turn your back, you know.

Yup. The 'divorce bill' is entirely to cover the portion of UK financial outlay that it committed too when a member of the EU which it wouldn't be able to pay after it leaves, leaving the rest of the bloc in a deficit if not paid. To the best of my knowledge, this is no provisional calculation for what the UK loses from the EU by not being a member anymore and if that's still the case, that is certainly yet to come in negotiations. Wrong thread for this convo though.