Google’s International Antitrust Issues

Europe has been steadily aiming antitrust charges at Google for some time, but the rest of the world is also joining in. In July, the European Commission filed a third antitrust charge against Google over its AdSense advertising business, adding to existing filings over Android app provision and its shopping service. The search giant has now been fined $6.75 million by Russia’s Federation Anti-monopoly Service. The Russian authorities say that Google has demanded its own search tool be front-and-center on all Android devices, as well as bundling its own services with Google Play, while stopping manufacturers from pre-installing their own competing software. The relatively small fine was calculated as a proportion of Google Play’s sales in the country. Elsewhere, the Korea Fair Trade Commission is now looking into whether Google has violated the country’s anti-competition laws, though specific details of the investigation are yet to be announced. One thing is clear, though: decreasing trust in Google’s practices appears to be spreading still further around the globe.