Google gets sued for its abuse of market power via Android tie-ups

A complaint filed yesterday in a San Jose, California federal court claimed that Google Inc has been abusing its market power by forcing mobile phone makers to offer the search engine company's applications in its handheld devices, Bloomberg reported. The complaint said that this insistence of using less popular applications to encourage users to continue using consumer favorites like YouTube are present in Android operating system's mobile application distribution agreements, or MADAs. The complain expounded further that the expansion of Google's monopoly in search on mobile devices thanks to MADAs requires the loading of all apps in the suite on the prime screen whether the manufacturer likes it or not, which is a clear violation of the anticompetitive law.

The complainant was identified as the owner of an HTC Corp. EVO 3D mobile phone, which was made in 2011 and is being run on Google's mobile operating system. The consumer's other claims in the lawsuit included the argument that the Google's restrictions on Android had made the phone more expensive to be purchased and that the pressure tactics of Google on manufacturers has cost the company an investigation by the European Union.

Spokesman Matt Kallman for the Mountain View, California-based Google said in an email regarding the new allegations, "Anyone can use Android without Google and anyone can use Google without Android. Since Android's introduction, greater competition in smartphones has given consumers more choices at lower prices."

Bloomberg pointed out that the existence of Android MADAs was first voiced out publicly by Harvard Business School professor Ben Edelman this year, when he talked in his blog about his concerns about the anticompetitive nature of the "secret" agreements. According to IDC, 78% of smartphones worldwide run on Android, while Apple's iOS only captured 18%, with Windows and Blackberry operating systems following at 3% and 0.6% respectively.

Tags

Google Inc, Android operating system, mobile application distribution agreements

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