FTC begins antitrust investigation into Google Android, web services
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has served Google with broad subpoenas to collect information about how the company conducts business with its Android licensees and the company's liberal borrowing of competitor's information before pushing them out of view.
The investigation, detailed by a report in the Wall Street Journal, states that the FTC is working with "several state attorneys general," looking into "whether Google prevents smartphone manufacturers that use its Android operating system from using competitors' services."
In addition to examining Android, the investigation is also probing Google's alleged involvement in taking information collected by rivals (such as customer reviews published by Yelp) to use on its own "Places" business listings or "Shopping results."
The company is also accused of demoting competitors services in its own search results after harvesting their data, promoting its own services in their place, using competitors' own content.
"When the FTC probe first became official in June," the Journal report stated, "Google said it wasn't clear what the agency was concerned about. But the early focus of the investigation suggests a potential threat to Google's plans to expand its commercial success beyond its current cash cow: the Web-search engine."
Google is also facing a parallel antitrust investigation in Europe by the European Commission, which started its own probe last year. The EC previously acted to impose restrictions on Microsoft after the United States failed to take any real action to prevent the company from leveraging its Windows monopoly to quickly dominate and erase competition in other areas.
Google maintains that it hasn't done anything wrong and that antitrust investigations are simply the result of competitors complaining about its growth into new markets. "
We understand that with success comes scrutiny," a Google spokeswoman was cited as saying in the report. "We're happy to answer any questions they have about our business."
Google's Android business is also under scrutiny for allegations it willfully infringed upon Oracle's Java as well as being involved in a series of suits covering copyright, trade dress and patent infringement involving Samsung, Motorola, HTC and other Android licenses.
The investigation, detailed by a report in the Wall Street Journal, states that the FTC is working with "several state attorneys general," looking into "whether Google prevents smartphone manufacturers that use its Android operating system from using competitors' services."
In addition to examining Android, the investigation is also probing Google's alleged involvement in taking information collected by rivals (such as customer reviews published by Yelp) to use on its own "Places" business listings or "Shopping results."
The company is also accused of demoting competitors services in its own search results after harvesting their data, promoting its own services in their place, using competitors' own content.
"When the FTC probe first became official in June," the Journal report stated, "Google said it wasn't clear what the agency was concerned about. But the early focus of the investigation suggests a potential threat to Google's plans to expand its commercial success beyond its current cash cow: the Web-search engine."
Google is also facing a parallel antitrust investigation in Europe by the European Commission, which started its own probe last year. The EC previously acted to impose restrictions on Microsoft after the United States failed to take any real action to prevent the company from leveraging its Windows monopoly to quickly dominate and erase competition in other areas.
Google maintains that it hasn't done anything wrong and that antitrust investigations are simply the result of competitors complaining about its growth into new markets. "
We understand that with success comes scrutiny," a Google spokeswoman was cited as saying in the report. "We're happy to answer any questions they have about our business."
Google's Android business is also under scrutiny for allegations it willfully infringed upon Oracle's Java as well as being involved in a series of suits covering copyright, trade dress and patent infringement involving Samsung, Motorola, HTC and other Android licenses.
Comments
Crybabies.
Pfft.
Google maintains that it hasn't done anything wrong and that antitrust investigations are simply the result of competitors complaining about its growth into new markets. "
Then how come there isn't similar antitrust investigations against other competitors in the market, just Google? Perhaps, maybe, because, possibly, the FTC (and similar bodies) have good reason to believe Google is actually guilty? Or is it just a conspiracy by every other competitor, who would still be competing with each other without Google, to take just Google down?
Hmm...
"Not evil."
Pfft.
Remember the golden rule: When Google does it, it's Not Evil(TM).
Also the Golden Corollary: When someone else does it to Google, they're Evil because they are conspiring against Google.
We get it, Google Evil, don't need to be told this endlessly day after day after day after...
Getting rather tired of it.
Wish it would just go back to just informing us about Apple.
It seems this site isn't just about Apple but Apple plus anything anti-Google (or Android). Well truthfully it's more like Apple + anything bad happening to competitors (of which mostly is Google these days).
We get it, Google Evil, don't need to be told this endlessly day after day after day after...
Getting rather tired of it.
Wish it would just go back to just informing us about Apple.
The headline was pretty clear what the article was about.
Apparently you are getting so tired of these articles that not only did you click through and read it, but also went ahead and posted a comment on it...
It seems this site isn't just about Apple but Apple plus anything anti-Google (or Android). Well truthfully it's more like Apple + anything bad happening to competitors (of which mostly is Google these days).
We get it, Google Evil, don't need to be told this endlessly day after day after day after...
Getting rather tired of it.
Wish it would just go back to just informing us about Apple.
All this weariness after three whole posts? Maybe you just came here from someplace where good news about Google and bad news about Apple is the order of the day. Just sayin', complaining newbies and lurkers don't get much cred.
If there's going to be an antitrust investigation of Google, they need to start with search and ads before they get to Android. IMO.
As far as I can tell, I don't think Google does anything wrong just withing their search and ad business?
My problem is how they liberally use their monopoly in search, and ads, to destroy other businesses and competitors (largely by promoting their services, and/or by giving away a product for free, kinda like how MS used IE to destroy Netscape).
This sort of clarifies Google's behavior with Android vis-Ã*-vis iOS and the iPhone. They merely applied their core business model--harvesting content from others and re-branding it as their own--to hardware and software. I failed to recognize that connection before.
Having a friend (acquaintance actually) screwed by Google with their Google Books Content Theft Project convinced me Google only cares about Google's profit and are willing to appropriate whatever IP or content they can to achieve it. Google took a very broad stroke of what they considered "orphaned" or "dead" or "out of print" works.
Prior to the Google Books project, I was a big Google fan.
As far as I can tell, I don't think Google does anything wrong just withing their search and ad business…
My problem is how they liberally use their monopoly in search, and ads, to destroy other businesses and competitors (largely by promoting their services, and/or by giving away a product for free, kinda like how MS used IE to destroy Netscape).
Antitrust is about misuse of monopoly power. I'd be shocked if there wasn't enough of that in most of their business since, as you say, web ad revenues fund most of the "free" products that Google uses to drive others out of business.
It seems this site isn't just about Apple but Apple plus anything anti-Google (or Android). Well truthfully it's more like Apple + anything bad happening to competitors (of which mostly is Google these days).
We get it, Google Evil, don't need to be told this endlessly day after day after day after...
Getting rather tired of it.
Wish it would just go back to just informing us about Apple.
I agree, that the endless bashing gets tedious...
But what's to be done? These [potentially illegal] activities should not be ignored -- and Google keeps supplying new material.
Maybe Google should change their motto: Don't be Evil/Stupid -- pick one!
Google is sitting on probably one of the most vast stores of web information in the world. Even news agencies blasted Google over Google's News at first because it was not only scraping their sites, but was also displaying information BEHIND articles that had restricted log-ins. Google's cached sites have even been criticized because it still displayed information that might have been taken down for legal reasons.
Google is leveraging it's data way too much without giving a thought to compensation or copyright.
I agree, that the endless bashing gets tedious...
But what's to be done? These [potentially illegal] activities should not be ignored -- and Google keeps supplying new material.
Maybe Google should change their motto: Don't be Evil/Stupid -- pick one!
Google's motto is: We're Not Evil(TM) Therefore Anything We Do Is Completely Justified, Even The Stuff We Accuse Others Of Doing.
The company is also accused of demoting competitors services in its own search results after harvesting their data, promoting its own services in their place, using competitors' own content.
"When the FTC probe first became official in June," the Journal report stated, "Google said it wasn't clear what the agency was concerned about."
Classic Google. Blatant theft of copyrighted material - and they don't understand why it's wrong.
Idiots.
The headline was pretty clear what the article was about.
Apparently you are getting so tired of these articles that not only did you click through and read it, but also went ahead and posted a comment on it...
He had to read it. That's what Google is paying him to do.
As far as I can tell, I don't think Google does anything wrong just withing their search and ad business?
How much did Google pay you for that gem?
Let's see what we can come up with:
- Stealing other's copyrighted material (such as this story)
- Intentionally using Java - even when knowing that they had no right to it
- Copying books without permission from the authors
- Stealing the look and feel of iOS
There is plenty of evidence for all of the above to make a strong case for each. Google has demonstrated a very, very clear propensity to ignore everyone's intellectual property but its own.
Google's entire business model is centered around taking other people content, repackaging it, and braining it as their own.
Google is using its wealth generated from its search monopoly to buy itself into other markets (e.g. Android) by giving products/services away free that are subsidized by the monopoly. Consumers often times view Google as the hero, as they did Microsoft, because consumers in the short term are getting product/services for free. In the long term those free products and services come at the cost of innovation and possibility higher prices when the competition is dead.
Google also acts unfairly because it favors its own products in search results again thereby gaining an unfair advantage in a new market. For instance, when you go to Google's search page, it asks if you want to use Chrome browser claiming it works better with its services.
Google has done that Places to gain advantage over Yelp. It is also doing the same with Groupon.
The only reason Google can afford to compete by giving product away is because of its monopoly in search (Google owns over 90 percent of the search market in most parts of the world).
This sort of clarifies Google's behavior with Android vis-Ã*-vis iOS and the iPhone. They merely applied their core business model--harvesting content from others and re-branding it as their own--to hardware and software. I failed to recognize that connection before.
If there's going to be an antitrust investigation of Google, the FTC needs to start with search + ads before they get to Android. IMO.