Google faces potential antitrust investigation in RussiaFebruary 18, 2015 - 16:23 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Google is facing a potential antitrust investigation by Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service following a complaint by Russian competitor Yandex, according to Business Insider. Yandex, also a search engine, is angry that Google's search tool comes already installed on Android mobile devices. That's because smartphone makers are forced to install Google Search — along with other Google apps — if they want the Google Play store to come standard on phones. As a result, Yandex alleges that "device manufacturers are increasingly prohibited from installing any services from Google's competitors on their devices." Manufacturers Prestigo, Fy, and Explay have all "notified [Yandex] in the course of 2014 that they are no longer able to pre-install Yandex services on their Android devices". Yandex is pushing to have Google's Search spun out from the rest of the company. "Google should not prevent manufacturers from preinstalling competitor apps," a Yandex spokesperson told TechCrunch. "This is why we are talking about the need to unbundle Google's Android operating system from Google Search and its over end-user services." Although Google dominates the European market, with a 90% plus search share, it has an acrimonious relationship with authorities. In November 2014, the European Parliament actually voted to break up the company and spin off Google's Search arm because of "anti-competitive behavior." The vote was non-binding, but it illustrates the level of distrust for the search giant on the continent. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Turkey extends military presence in Azerbaijan The Turkish parliament has adopted a bill submitted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend the mandate of Turkish troops. Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills Armenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi Arabia Pashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”. |