14 DAY TRIAL // Antitrust regulators from the European Union are reportedly planning to order Alphabet, Google's parent company, to stop providing financial incentives to smartphone companies. Google has been apparently conducting anti-competitive practices, as it paid phone makers to pre-install Google Search exclusively on their devices.
According to Reuters, EU antitrust regulators have warned the company that it might be fined with a large sum. In April, Google received a 150-page document in which the European Commission accused the company of using its Android OS to shut out rivals.
The EU wants Google to stop payments or discounts to phone makers in return for pre-installing Google Search on devices. In addition, regulators want to prevent Google from forcing smartphone companies to pre-install proprietary apps if this might restrict the use of competing operating systems based on Google's Android. The document says that Google "cannot punish or threaten" for refusing to comply with its conditions.
The Commission has brought three charges against Google
The European Commission launched the investigation following a complaint received by FairSearch, a group of companies that lobby against monopoly in the search engine market. The group consists of major companies like TripAdvisor, Oracle, Expedia, Nokia, and more.
The document also mentions that anti-competitive practices started in January 2011, but the fine amount wasn’t disclosed. Reuters believes it could be based on revenue generated from AdWorks clicks by European users, Google Search product queries, Play store apps purchases, and AdMob's in-app advertisements.
The Commission already accused Google of favoring its own shopping service over those provided by rivals and the tech giant could receive another fine from that case too.
A report from The Telegraph reveals that the Commission brought another charge to Google this year, claiming that the company restricted competitors to its AdSense for Search advertising service by signing exclusivity agreements with websites.
Considering the charges, Google risks fines that could reach billions of dollars. Google's deadline for responding to the charge related to online shopping is October 13 and to the advertising charge October 26. Google must respond to the Android claim by October 31.