The EU fining Google over Android is too little, too late, say experts

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: July 20, 2018 at 1:16:42 AM GMT+9
> To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] The EU fining Google over Android is too little, too late, say experts
> Reply-To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
>
> The EU fining Google over Android is too little, too late, say experts
> Industry analysts fear action against anti-competitive behaviour will punish consumers more than Google
> By Samuel Gibbs
> Jul 18 2018
> <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/18/eu-fine-google-android-anti-competitive-behaviour-consumers>
>
> The European commission has fined Google £3.8bn for anti-competitive behaviourregarding its Android mobile operating 
> system. It’s looking to force the company to cede some control, but is it too little too late?
>
> The record fine is not to be dismissed, but for Google it is the EU’s suggested remedy – the prising loose of its 
> tight grip around Android – that may have the largest impact.
>
> The underlying Android operating system used on more than 2bn devices worldwide is open source and therefore free to 
> use as manufacturers see fit. But the Android that most in western markets see is actually a combination of that 
> underlying open source system with services licensed for free from Google.
>
> The problem
>
> The Google Play Store is the largest gateway to third-party apps available on Android and is considered an essential 
> part of the Android experience for mainstream consumers.
>
> The Play Store is free to use under licence from Google, but comes with a set of conditions smartphone manufacturers 
> must meet. The most important of these, and the one the EC has a problem with, is the requirement to set Google as 
> the default search engine and the pre-installation of certain apps, including Google Chrome, YouTube and the Google 
> search app. Google also dictates that some of the pre-installed apps be placed on the homescreen.
>
> Users can delete these apps from their homescreen, choose to change the default search engine and switch out Google’s 
> apps for alternatives, but many do not and are instead drawn to Android because of these services.
>
> Geoff Blaber from analyst firm CCS Insight said: “Although an open source operating system, Android was introduced as 
> a vehicle for Google’s licensable apps and services and to extend the Google business model as engagement shifted to 
> mobile. In this context, Android has been incredibly successful.”
>
> That is the reason it is licensed free to manufacturers, and ultimately the reason devices that cost less than £50 
> can exist. The more eyeballs the Android-maker can secure on its own products, or Google-fed advertising in 
> third-party apps, the more money it can make from its core business model of selling and displaying ads.
>
> The consequence of this strategy is that competing search engines and apps are effectively shut out of the dominant 
> mobile platform, which is what the EC has a problem with.
>
> The remedy
>
> What the EC is demanding is that Google cede some control over Android in its licensing. The EC is demanding that 
> manufacturers should be free to use Android and include the Google Play Store without having to pre-install the 
> Google Search app and Chrome.
>
> It’s a similar strategy to that employed by the EC in 2004, when it forced Microsoft to release a version of Windows 
> without Windows Media Player and later offer a browser choice screen, which allowed users to select a web browser 
> other than Internet Explorer.
>
> But as with the Media Player-free version of Windows, Windows XP N, for which there was no demand, consumers are 
> unlikely to buy a version of Android without Google’s services.
>
> “The EU’s stance is arguably six to eight years too late,” said Blaber. “Android has already helped establish Google 
> apps and services as essentials for consumers in the western world.
>
> [snip]
>
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