Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) this week found Google guilty of abusing its dominant market position in the country by bundling its apps with the Android OS.
The tech titan could face fines or be required to allow competing services to be pre-installed on devices that would otherwise be equipped with Google apps.
The decision comes after Russian search engine Yandex filed a complaint earlier this year that accused Google of thwarting competition. According to the lawsuit, Yandex believes user-centric services—search, maps, email, etc.—should be unbundled from the mobile OS, leveling the playing field and allowing developers to expand their audiences.
FAS appears to agree, announcing on Monday that Google is guilty of violating Russia's antimonopoly law by requiring "mandatory pre-installment of 'Google' applications and 'Google' search system and mandatory priority positioning on the device home page."
The FAS has 10 business days to issue a full ruling on the case; administrative proceedings are expected to begin next month.
According to a Google spokeswoman, the company has yet to receive the ruling. "When we do we will study it and determine our next steps," she said in a statement to PCMag.
Yandex is also awaiting the ruling and full decision, but welcomed the FAS's positive ruling.
"Although the European Commission has already begun a formal investigation in relation to these same practices, Russia is the first jurisdiction to have officially recognized these practices as anti-competitive," a Yandex spokeswoman said. "We believe the FAS's decision will serve to restore competition on the market."
"Many believe that Android is an open platform," the original Yandex filing said, adding that "in reality," manufacturers are locked into Google Play, and device makers must pre-install the entire suite of Google SMS services and set Google as the default search.
Three Russian smartphone vendors—Prestigio, Fly, and Explay—last year were blocked from adding Yandex services to their Android gadgets, the operating system that is on more than 86 percent of all smartphones sold in Russia.
Google, of course, would prefer that partners pre-load its own apps, but they are not required to do so. Nokia's 2013 Android-based X lineup, for example, was based on the customizable Android Open Source Platform (AOSP); the operating system on those phones did not come preloaded with Google Play.
But it's basically an all-or-nothing proposition. Either you go with AOSP and launch with no Google services, or go with Google and bundle all the apps it requires. You can't mix and match and have a phone with Google Maps but Yandex search pre-installed, for example.
The European Commission has also formally accused Google of abusing its power when it comes to search, and opened a separate probe into the company's Android mobile operating system.
Source: pcmag.com
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