Google big risks with Android, the EU wants 7 billion: What has done? – International Business Times Italy

Google big risks: $ 7.4 billion, accounting for 10% of its turnover in 2015, are certainly not small change. Now it’s official, the European Commission has submitted a formal antitrust complaint against Google and its mobile operating system, Android . The press release is very clear: the EU accuses Google of abusing its dominant position on the app pre-installed on the devices that use Android as the operating system. Here a list of facts about this accusation.

WHAT DID GOOGLE (WRONG) ACCORDING TO THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

According to the European Commission Google he would have abused his position dominance to promote its app bypassing the competition: “We have carried out a mobile marketing strategy to protect and expand its dominant position, harming consumers, stifling competition and innovation,” said during the press conference Margrethe Vestager , EU commissioner for competition.

The European Union’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager Reuters

very strong words for a company, Google , which has always made innovation its workhorse. But what he does “combined” into Google specific to deserve so much attention from the European Commission? There are three key points:

• The Google required manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the Google Chrome browser. This means ask you to enter the default Google search on the device as a condition of license certain proprietary applications of Google
• Google would have prevented the sale of smartphone manufacturers or tablet with competing operating systems based on the source code of Android
• Google would provide economic incentives to manufacturers and mobile operators to pre-install Google Search condition on their device

GOOGLE ANDROID is OPEN-SOURCE, NO?

Interesting the second point: Android is (on paper) an open-source operating system, meaning it can be downloaded, used and modified by anyone. But the producers who would like to do it but also pre-install Google’s proprietary apps like the Play Store must enter a “ anti-fragmentation agreement” with Google. What does it mean?

What Google gives you a box full of toys, but you can only play by its rules. Google imposes restrictions on device manufacturers: manufacturer if you want to access Youtube, Play Store and many other Google apps you need to enter the default apps or other services Google. Beautiful freedom, right?

Google in general defends himself by saying that the business model of Android has allowed many producers to enter the market, as well as giving consumers an extreme the device control. Google let the smartphone manufacturers are using Android to you gratuitously and monetizes (much) thanks to so-called “Gapps”, proprietary apps like YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, Google Search and many more in many cases come bundled with the operating system, that are installed from the outset, that the consumer wants them or not (and here, precisely, would the problem).

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Google has already responded to the EU allegations on the official blog, even if informally ” the agreements with partners are voluntary, anyone can use Android without Google, you can download the entire totally free operating system, modify it, and build a phone. and many companies like Amazon do just that. “

a year ago Cyanogen , the company that produces one of the most popular Android ROM, CyanogenMod, declared open war to Google on these issues. But not everyone agrees, for many Android is really an open system. But imagine this hypothesis: you have a smartphone without the Play Store pre-installed : how many people would be able to search, find and manually install what is the doorway to the main phone functions, ie apps? Few, very few. If you do not have the right skills and knowledge to do these tasks, Android becomes a fairly closed operating system, and closed means open especially to Google apps.

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The European antitrust charges against Google European Commission

This is certainly not a new business model, conquer a huge installed base of hardware to monetize software. Someone said Microsoft ? In fact, the Redmond was hit by the European Commission for the same reasons with Windows.

WHAT IS GOOGLE ANDROID IN EUROPE

A lot. According to comScore data for February, 68.4% of smartphone owners over 13 years in Italy has an Android device, 65.1% for the tablet. We talk at least 21 million smartphones.

Android in Italy comScore

But the antitrust complaint rigurda throughout Europe: Android is present in approximately 60-65% in the majority of EU member states, with Spain reaching 83.6%.

Android It dominates in Europe, no doubt. comScore

Now Google has three months to formally responding to these allegations. If the EU decides that Google is guilty, the company will have to reconsider all its distribution strategy of proprietary app and definitely will see an economic loss, of course, over the billions in fines, but could also reach an agreement (with its “discount”) . Without forgetting the Java problem. Google, “Do not be evil”, the rest is your motto.