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Russia: Largest search engine files antitrust complaint against Google

By  |  February 18, 2015

Yandex, Russia’s largest search provider, has filed a complaint against Google for what it believes are anti-competitive practices. The complaint specifically relates Google’s bundling of its search engine and apps into Android, which is, by far, the most popular mobile OS in Russia.

According to Yandex, Google is actively preventing local smartphone vendors from pre-loading competing services onto devices running Android. It claims the belief that Android is an open platform is merely an illusion, as, in order to put the Google Play store on their devices.

The case mirrors a probe in Europe centred on whether Google takes unfair advantage of the 80 percent market share of the Android platform to promote services from maps to search.

The watchdog, the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service, said it had received Yandex’s complaint. A spokeswoman said it could take up to 30 days to review it.

Full Content: Reuters

 

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