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A8 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 19 July 2018
EU fines Google a record $5 billion over mobile practices

By RYAN NAKASHIMA European regulators have
RAF CASERT set the pace in shaping
Associated Press rules for the tech industry.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Europe- The EU has clashed repeat-
an regulators came down edly with Microsoft over
hard on another U.S. tech the years, fining it over its
giant Wednesday, fining bundling practices and its
Google a record $5 billion promotion of its Internet Ex-
for forcing cellphone mak- plorer browser.
ers that use the company's In 2016, the EU ruled that
Android operating system Apple was getting prefer-
to install Google search ential treatment from the
and browser apps. Irish government and de-
The European Union said manded it pay $15 billion in
Google's practices restrict back taxes. The EU has also
competition and reduce tangled with Amazon and
choices for consumers. Intel.
While Google can eas- European regulators have
ily afford the fine, the rul- likewise taken a harder line
ing could undermine the on data privacy. After the
company's business model, scandal this spring involv-
which relies on giving away ing the misuse of Facebook
its operating system in re- users' personal data during
turn for opportunities to sell the U.S. presidential elec-
ads and other products. EU Commissioner Margrethe Vestager holds a press conference on a Competition Case involving tion and other campaigns,
Google immediately said it Google Android, in Brussels on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. the EU began enforcing
will appeal, arguing that its Associated Press tougher new rules.
free operating system has The Google crackdown
led to lower-price phones ulators focused on three "The important thing is not dent of the Information comes at a sensitive time
and created competition that had the biggest mar- to be distracted by the size Technology and Innovation for trans-Atlantic relations,
with its chief rival, Apple. ket share: Google Search, of the fine. What is impor- Foundation, a think tank in with President Donald
Android has "created more Chrome and the compa- tant is that Google has to Washington, said the rul- Trump lambasting the EU
choice for everyone, not ny's app store, called Play change its abusive behav- ing "is a blow to innovative, as a "foe" only last week.
less," Google CEO Sundar Store. ior," said Rich Stables, CEO open-source business mod- The U.S. imposed tariffs on
Pichai tweeted . The EU gave Google 90 of the rival search engine els." EU steel and aluminum this
The fine, which caps a days to come up with rem- Kelkoo. The main complain- year, and the EU respond-
three-year investigation, is edies that could allow rival Android is an open-source ant against Google was ed with duties on American
the biggest ever imposed search apps and browsers operating system that FairSearch, a Brussels- goods.
on a company by the EU onto more phones. Failure Google lets cellphone mak- based lobbying group that "We have to protect con-
for anticompetitive behav- to comply risks a further ers use for free. As a result, it has been backed by Ora- sumers and competition to
ior. penalty of up to $15 million is the most widely used sys- cle, TripAdvisor and Nokia. make sure consumers get
It is likely to stoke tensions a day. tem, beating Apple's iOS. It called the ruling "an im- the best of fair competi-
between Europe and the The EU also took issue with The EU wants to ensure that portant step in disciplining tion," Vestager said. "We will
U.S., which regulates the Google's payments to wire- phone makers are free Google's abusive behav- continue to do it, no matter
tech industry with a lighter less carriers and phone to pre-install apps of their ior." the political context."q
hand and has complained makers to exclusively pre- choosing. It also wants cell-
that the EU is singling out install the Google Search phone makers to be able
American companies for app. to more easily use altered
punishment. It ruled, too, that Google versions of Android, like
Still, some U.S. politicians broke the law by forcing Amazon's Fire OS.
welcomed the ruling. manufacturers that took Google argues that letting
Democratic Sen. Richard its apps to commit to not phone makers choose their
Blumenthal of Connecti- selling devices that use al- apps could hurt the com-
cut tweeted that the fine tered versions of Android. pany's main means of mak-
should "be a wake-up call" EU Competition Commis- ing money through Android
to the Federal Trade Com- sioner Margrethe Vestager — advertising and the
mission and "should lead US said that given the size of sale of content and apps.
enforcers to protect con- the company, the 4.34 bil- Apple, in contrast, makes
sumers." Blumenthal previ- lion euro fine is not dispro- most of its money from the
ously called on regulators portionate. sale of devices.
to investigate how Google The penalty is on top of a Giving phone makers more
tracks users of Android 2.42 billion euro fine ($2.8 freedom to use altered ver-
phones. billion) that regulators im- sions of Android could also
In its ruling, the EU said posed on Google a year hurt Google. Samsung, a
Google broke the rules by ago for favoring its shop- hugely popular maker of
requiring cellphone makers ping listings in search results. Android phones, could, for
to take a bundle of Google Google's parent company, example, break off and
apps if they wanted any at Alphabet, made $9.4 bil- take much of the Android
all. lion in profit in the first three system with it. Samsung
The bundle contains 11 months of the year and has had no immediate com-
apps, including YouTube, over $100 billion in cash re- ment.
Maps and Gmail, but reg- serves. Daniel Castro, vice presi-