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Google faces antitrust case for monopolizing India’s smart TV market
It allegedly bullied manufacturers into staying away from Android TV rivals
Google’s been facing antitrust cases left, right, and center in nearly all its major global markets, and it looks like those legal woes aren’t going away anytime soon. While the search giant’s Indian arm has already been contesting a couple of existing anti-competitive lawsuits (it was even fined $21 million in one of them), a new case alleges similar behavior in the smart TV market and makes some serious accusations about Google abusing its dominance.
Department of Justice set to begin antitrust proceedings against Google as early as this month
Attorney General William P. Barr wants to speed things up
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The Department of Justice is preparing to conduct a wide-ranging antitrust investigation into Google's business practices, multiple sources have said to news agencies. The scope of the sweep looks to include the company's primary search and online advertising operations. The speculation comes in the wake of a series of penalties and further awaiting trials in other parts of the world on Google's anti-competitive behavior.
Google's antitrust woes intensify as California opens new investigation
Mountain View now faces pressure from the DOJ and almost every state attorney
Google has been no stranger to antitrust cases in recent years with the European Commission going after it several times, but there's now mounting pressure in its own country, too. The United States Department of Justice could be about to open legal proceedings against Google, along with numerous state attorneys across the nation and the House Judiciary Committee. Google's home state of California had been reluctant to join but has reportedly opened its own investigation in recent days.
As Google grows, it has increasingly become a target for antitrust lawsuits. The company was ordered to let users choose their preferred search engine in Russia, and European Union citizens are asked to select their favorite browser as a result of fines. According to a report from Reuters, India has now ordered an investigation into antitrust complaints similar to those raised in Europe.
We're the Android Police, but even explicitly non-Android news is sometimes relevant, as in the case of the recent rumors surrounding Huawei. According to the South China Morning Post, Huawei might be working on its own OS. These plans were allegedly initiated in response to investigations by the US against the company in 2012 as a "worst-case scenario" plan for the future.
The US Department of Justice is investigating AT&T and Verizon for allegedly colluding with the GSMA to influence eSIM standards so as not to threaten their dominance over the US consumer market. The investigation was opened five months ago after Apple and an unnamed wireless carrier complained to the DOJ, according to Reuters.
Games featuring phones are all the rage right now, huh? After Strange Telephone earlier today, we came across A Normal Lost Phone, from Accidental Queens. The game features a character who finds, unsurprisingly, a lost cell phone, and then attempts to return the device by looking through text messages and other items to identify the owner.
In the beginning, there was Android. Android was an open-source, largely hardware-agnostic operating system designed to work on a variety of devices and form-factors, and then Google bought the company that made it (also called Android, founded by Andy Rubin). Then, there was Google's Android. Google's Android was still open source, but now it came with stuff you'd actually want to use. Like an app store. And Google Maps. And Gmail. And Google Search. And did I mention Android itself was and is still open source? Because it was and is, and will continue to be likely for many, many, many years into the future.
Update, 9-4-13: a Verizon Wireless spokesman reached out to say that the wireless provider hasn't been fined by the FCC, and that the landline services provider (providers of home Internet and cable services) is the one being fined. Verizon and Verizon Wireless are technically separate companies. The headline and story text have been altered to reflect this.
You can't talk about mobile gaming without mentioning the elephant in the room: the free-to-play model. The bane of many a purist gamer and unwitting parent, an over-reliance on free downloads and hooks for in-app purchases has made mobile gaming a minefield of games based on upsell and addiction. Italy's had enough, and its antitrust authority is investigating app store owners Google, Apple, and Amazon, and game publisher Gameloft, for unfair commercial practices.
Bad news for Verizon subscribers: Verizon isn't just raping you on your bill, they're really getting you up the pooper because they're making a few more dollars off of you by selling your personal data. Things like where you are, what you're doing on your phone, your gender, age, and personal details like whether you're a "sports enthusiast, frequent diner, or pet owner."
Over at Google's Public Policy Blog (yes, that really exists) today, Senior VP Dennis Woodside issued a statement that the U.S. Department of Justice was taking a "second look" at certain potential antitrust issues in the Google-Motorola deal. What's it mean?