Google Under Investigation by FTC Again, This time Over Android
posted Saturday Sep 26, 2015 by Scott Ertz
Last week, Google was charged with antitrust in Russia. The charge was in regards to how Google treats its own services in Android, and how they force their policies on manufacturers through contracts. The way they best enforce these policies is by denying access to the Play Store on devices that don't give preferential treatment to Google's services, even above the manufacturer's.
This week, Bloomberg has reported on a new threat to Google's Android policies, stating,
FTC officials have met with technology company representatives who say Google gives priority to its own services on the Android platform, while restricting others, added the people, who asked for anonymity because the matter is confidential.
This means that 2 years after the FTC ended their search investigation in Google's practices, the organization is once again ramping up its investigation into Google. The previous investigation was mostly solo in the global market, while this one, which began earlier in the year, is matched in countries worldwide, including the charges in Russia.
Meetings between the FTC and Google indicate that the FTC is gathering physical evidence to support a possible case against the company. While it might seem like a slam-dunk, being as they have already been charged elsewhere, Google seems to be good at getting out of trouble. We do remember the slap on the wrist when they actively stole data from unsuspecting homes via their StreetView cars. Because of that, anything is still possible.
