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technology·TechnologybyMurena

🇪🇺 EU Court confirms €4.1bn Google fine - largest antitrust penalty ever imposed by the EU Commission

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/48969583

Google...

🔸required Android makers to pre-install Search & Chrome for Play Store access

🔸paid manufacturers exclusively

🔸blocked other Android versions

Less competition = fewer choices for users.

At Murena, we propose a full ecosystem without vendor lock-in. Your data, your choice.

👉 Read the full article by BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgj0pp5p62o?app-referrer=deep-link

🇪🇺 EU Court confirms €4.1bn Google fine - largest antitrust penalty ever imposed by the EU Commissionhttps://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgj0pp5p62o?app-referrer=deep-linkOpen linkView original on lemmy.world
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16 replies

lemmy.world

I definitely think Google is guilty of what the Commission has accused them of here, but I also can't help but think: if pre-installing Google Search and Chrome are anti-competitive, why is Apple not guilty of the same thing? In fact, I'd argue that Apple is ten times worse in this regard because you actually can't use any browser but Safari on iOS (all other browser apps are actually just re-skins of Safari under the hood). Does being a vertically-integrated company excuse such behaviour?

38
mschaereply
discuss.mschae23.de

why is Apple not guilty of the same thing?

They are, I believe the commission has also been investigating apple for this. But it might also be considered a different situation since, as far as I understood, google was fined for pressuring other manufacturers into pre-installing google search and chrome on their devices.

Apple is ten times worse in this regard because you actually can't use any browser but Safari on iOS

Well, WebKit, not safari (you could say safari is apple's WebKit skin, I guess), but you're right. The DMA was supposed to fix this and force them to allow other browser engines, but I don't think much has changed in this regard. I'm not aware of any browsers not using WebKit on iOS so far, at least.

29
Victorreply
lemmy.world

Thank you for being corrective about the WebKit thing.

I wish media and others would be more accurate when talking about browsers. All these "Chrome-based" browsers are not "based" on Chrome at all, they are just using Blink, the rendering engine, which Chrome/Chromium also uses. And Blink itself is based on/forked from WebKit, funny enough.

6
WhyJiffiereply
sh.itjust.works

I don't get all the fuss about browsers. google and apple are really just trying to make sure everyone is using a KHTML based browser, out of the goodness of their heart, so it is good for everyone. KHTML is good. don't fight against it.

1
Victorreply
lemmy.world

Any particular reason why it's "good for everyone", or it just is?

Diversity and non-monopoly is good.

1
WhyJiffiereply
sh.itjust.works

/s

if it was just the rendering engine and not the entire base browser, removal of the APIs from chrome needed for ublock origin wouldn't be that big of a deal.

1

Google was found to have paid manufacturers and telecoms to have Google search and Chrome pre-installed, and further enforced this by blocking access to its Play Store if they didn't comply. Finally, it prohibited manufacturers from offering other versions of Android, again by threatening to ban access to its apps.

The only reason Apple isn't also fined here is that they build and sell their own hardware, so they don't have to force anyone to play by their rules - because they're the only ones on the field...

Apple has been fined several times for abuse of dominant position though, and will surely be fined again since they continue to do it and profit massively from it.

15

They don’t license out their operating system to other companies or ever claimed it was open

They may be guilty of similar things, but not quite the same

5

If you are old enough you might remember a similar fine for those nice search bars everyone was getting by default all over the place with every driver install and every program you downloaded. That was a fun time too!

1

It is relevant not economically but as a point of principle. The US companies have a certain comfort with fucking about without challenge.

13

Google will have to say "I'm sowwy" and pay 10 euros for comitting war crimes.

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"significant investment to ensure Android remains open, interoperable and free".

Haha. "Open" is history and "free" it never really was. The currency to use it was personal data.

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🇪🇺 EU Court confirms €4.1bn Google fine - largest antitrust penalty ever imposed by the EU Commission | Spyke