South Korea's top two Internet accuse Google of stifling competitionApril 15, 2011 - 13:26 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - South Korea's top two Internet companies filed complaints with the antitrust watchdog Friday, April 15, over Google's alleged practice of stifling competition in the local mobile phone search market. Daum and NHN Corp told the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) that Google exploited its position as developer of the Android mobile operating system to have its search function preloaded on local smartphones. They said this limited access by local search engines to smartphones using the Android operating system. "Through a marketing partnership with major smartphone producers, Google has prohibited other market players from pre-installing their search window or related applications," NHN said in a statement. NHN's Naver has a market share of around 56 percent of the domestic mobile search market while Daum had around 16 percent as of last month, NHN said, citing market research data. "Google's market share in the local internet search market only accounts for around 2 percent but due to such an unfair act, its share in the mobile market is fast rising in Korea, and it stands at around 15 percent," a NHN spokesman said. Google denied the accusations, asserting that it has never pressed device manufacturers or mobile operators to use its mobile platform. "Android is an open platform, and carrier partners are free to decide which applications and services to include on their Android phones," it said in a statement. It said Google regularly enters into business agreements where carriers can choose to pre-install Google mobile services including a search function. "But we absolutely do not require carriers or manufacturers to include Google Search on Android-powered devices. We look forward to working with the KFTC to address any questions they may have." Android smartphones sold in South Korea provide the Google search engine as a default. 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 | Armenian, Azerbaijani heads of parliament meet in Switzerland President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Border residents overnight on highway to protest Armenia’s Residents of Kirants continue to express outrage over the government’s decision to cede land to Azerbaijan. Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. |