European Union Targeted Google Over Its Alleged Anti-Competitive Android Practices

The European Union's antitrust regulators plan to order Google to stop paying financial incentives to smartphones in exchange for installing Google Search exclusively on their android devices.

According to Reuters, in the 150-page complaint, the European Commission accuses Google of using its dominant position in the smartphone market to shut out rivals.

The EU competition enforcer stated in its statement of objective that they planned to tell Google to halt payments or discounts to mobile phone manufacturers in return for pre-installing Google's Play Store with Google Search.

The Commission also intends to prohibit Google from forcing device manufacturers from bundling its proprietary apps if this prevents them from using competing Android-based operating systems, like CyanogenOS.

The investigation into Google's business practices was prompted by a complaint by FairSearch. This is a group of organization or a lobby group supported by companies who wanted to secure that they are not disadvantaged by search engine market dominance. FairSearch are purportedly apprehensive about Google's overwhelming dominance in online search. The group includes companies like Nokia, Oracle, Expedia, and TripAdvisor.

Google can be faced with a large fine if they fail to conform with the intents of the European Commission, especially that the alleged anti-competitive practices, which started in 2011, are still ongoing.

While on the interim that there's no dollar figure yet, the total sum could be based on a number of factors. The penalty could be based on revenue generated from AdWords clicks by European users, Google Search product queries, Play Store apps purchases and AdMob's in-app advertisements.

According to The Next Web, this isn't the first instance that the European Commission has targeted a major technology-based company over anticompetitive practices. In 2004, it ordered Microsoft to pay a €497 million fine, release a version of Windows without Windows Media Player, and divulge information about its proprietary protocols. This was due to same assessment and fears that it was using its dominant position to shut out competition.