Well, there must be reasons why Google(Alphabet Inc.) has been sharing Android platform to vendors for free. One of them is definitely a taking advantage of pre-installation of google services including Google search. On the other hand, the below article make us to re-think about who should be allowed to enjoy the benefits from pre-installation.
Russian authorities have accused Google of violating the country’s anti-trust regulations by having Google services pre-installed on its Android-based phones and tablets. The Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service ruled that Android users should be able to buy a phone pre-loaded with the Google Play store and without any of Google's other products.
Boosting local search engine, Russia tells Google to unbundle services from Android
Russian authorities have accused Google of violating the country’s anti-trust regulations by having Google services pre-installed on its Android-based phones and tablets. The Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service ruled that Android users should be able to buy a phone pre-loaded with the Google Play store and without any of Google's other products.
The ruling gives a boost to Yandex, a Russian search engine that competes with Google in key areas. Today, the public company's stock climbed for a few hours after the news of the decision.
Earlier this year, Yandex asked Russian authorities to order Google to unbundle Google services from Android. According to Bloomberg, Yandex has been losing market share to Google rapidly in recent months. "Yandex’s share of Russian searches fell to 50 percent last month compared with 54 percent in January of 2014, according to LiveInternet.ru, while Google’s share rose to almost 42 percent from 34 percent,” the news outlet reported.
Russia’s Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said that it would issue detailed instructions to Google within the next 10 days on how to proceed. In a statement to Ars, a Google spokesperson said, "We haven't yet received the ruling. When we do we will study it and determine our next steps."
Google has faced similar anti-trust accusations in Europe where regulators say that Google unfairly favors its own comparison shopping tool. This April, European Union regulators also launched an investigation into Android to see if Google "abused a possible dominant position in the field of operating systems, applications, and services for smart mobile devices.” Google has vehemently rejected the EU’s characterization of its business.
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/09/boosting-local-search-engine-russia-tells-google-to-unbundle-services-from-android/
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