European Union charges Google over 'abuse of dominance' by Android

By Jude Abastar, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, April 21, 2016

Google has a long history of disputes, mostly about control and regulation issues; but nothing is bigger than what it is about to face right now – an antitrust charge courtesy of The European Union. The charges are reportedly directed towards the company's Android mobile operating system.

In a report from USA Today, the antitrust charges are actually the second in two years, but this time, the allegations focus on Google using its Android OS to be able to influence and force consumers, particularly mobile users to use it and abandon desktop computers. In the process, Google is accused of eliminating competitors by requiring gadget manufacturers to install the Google search engine and their web browser on the devices, and in turn, these manufacturers are to be provided with lucrative incentives if they use Google as the default search engine in their devices.

But similar to previous accusations, Google responded by saying that all the agreements they have with manufacturers are voluntary in nature. But if EU wins this, the giant tech company might have to pay billions of fines. However, the more significant implication is that it may be forced to make some alterations in doing business with other companies.

This could be a landmark case since millions of consumers these days rely heavily on mobile devices to access the internet, and everyone knows that Android, along with iOS, have the biggest share in the market. As a matter of fact, it would be fair to say that Android is the most dominant since even the cheapest smart phones and tablet devices out there use it, while iOS is exclusive to Apple devices.

Android is currently running not just mobile and smartphones, but also TVs, smart watches, game consoles, and even entertainment systems in vehicles.

The European Union took on a giant on its own, so the allegations that Google have taken advantage of their dominance will likely go through a very long, tedious, and expensive process.