Google is being investigated in South Korea for anti-aggressive practices

Google is in a little bit of scorching water in South Korea over yet one more anti-competitors investigation. On this case, the Truthful Commerce Fee, or the FTC, is investigating whether or not or notice Google has hindered Samsung’s improvement of its personal working system.

In 2011, Google and Samsung each signed the Cellular Software Distribution Settlement, which principally states that each one of Samsung’s Android smartphones have to make use of Google because the default search engine. Not solely that, however Samsung’s units additionally have to have Google apps — like Gmail, YouTube, and the Google Play Retailer — pre-put in. As well as, an anti-fragmentation settlement was reached, and underneath that settlement, Samsung can’t develop its personal Android-based mostly working system.

Extra: Google Fiber, AT&T Fiber flip Kentucky metropolis into gigabit battleground

This isn’t the primary time Google has confronted antitrust expenses in South Korea. The corporate was additionally investigated when South Korea’s prime search engines like google, Naver and Daum, claimed Google’s settlement with Samsung violated antitrust legal guidelines. These expenses have been ultimately cleared in 2013.

The dangerous information for Google is that on prime of the newly opened investigation into whether or not or observe the corporate obstructed Samsung from creating its personal cellular working system, the FTC has additionally stated that will probably be reopening the 2013 case, suggesting that because the case was closed, the market has modified.

It might be problematic if Google is discovered responsible, as the corporate might face a hefty positive. In fact, that is all par for the course for Google, which was fined $6.seventy five million in an antitrust case final yr by Russian regulators.

It is going to be fascinating to see how this case impacts Google and its relationship with Samsung. The South Korean agency has lengthy been making an attempt to scale back its dependence on Google, and has been creating Tizen, its personal working system, for a while now. Is that working system not on Samsung’s telephones due to its settlement with Google? Solely time will inform.