South Korea fines Google for abusing smartphone dominance

The new measures from the KFTC are intended to spur competition by freeing companies to create so-called forks of Android – versions built from the same basic building blocks but modified to suit the manufacturer’s aims, such as targeting different device classes or use cases – without fear of punitive measures from Google. — Photo by Adrien on Unsplash

South Korea fined Alphabet Inc’s Google US$177mil (RM734.37mil) for hampering the development of rivals to its Android operating system, sustaining a campaign targeting the US search giant’s dominance in smartphone software.

Regulators accuse Google, whose mobile operating system powers more than 80% of smartphones around the world, of using its immense bargaining power to squeeze out the competition. The Korea Fair Trade Commission said Google’s anti-fragmentation agreements (AFA) with manufacturers like Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc prevented gadget makers from developing or using modified versions of the Android OS. The watchdog banned Google from forcing manufacturers to sign AFA contracts and ordered that it modify existing ones.