Court Orders Google (a Monopolist) To Knock It Off With the Monopoly Stuff
www.eff.org
A federal court recently ordered Google to make it easier for Android users to switch to rival app stores, banned Google from using its vast cash reserves to block competitors, and hit Google with a bundle of thou-shalt-nots and assorted prohibitions.Each of these measures is well crafted, narrowly...

For the next three years, Google must meet the following criteria:

  • Allow third-party app stores for Android, and let those app stores distribute all the same apps as are available in Google Play (app developers can opt out of this);
  • Distribute third-party app stores as apps, so users can switch app stores by downloading a new one from Google Play, in just the same way as they’d install any app;
  • Allow apps to use any payment processor, not just Google’s 30 percent money-printing machine;
  • Permit app vendors to tell users about other ways to pay for the things they buy in-app;
  • Permit app vendors to set their own prices.

Google is also prohibited from using its cash to fence out rivals, for example, by:

  • Offering incentives to app vendors to launch first on Google Play, or to be exclusive to Google Play;
  • Offering incentives to app vendors to avoid rival app stores;
  • Offering incentives to hardware makers to pre-install Google Play;
  • Offering incentives to hardware makers not to install rival app stores.
  • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    89·
    27 days ago

    iOS is certainly far more locked down than Android.

    But thats not really what courts are looking at with the Google stuff going on recently.

    The courts take issue with Google strong-arming OEMs to do what Google says. Forcing them to include Google services, Google tracking, not to have other stores as default, etc. under threat of not allowing Google Apps, Play Store, or Play Services/notifications to work - something that is effectively a requirement if you want to sell your devices.

    Apple isn’t doing that. Apple isn’t forcing OEMs to push Apple services and telemetry, because they own their own hardware business. Apple isn’t forcing Samsung/OnePlus/Sony/etc to do their bidding. Google is.

    I firmly believe Apple should be made to open up their devices, but it cannot be done under current US law (unlike with Google, who is unquestionably abusing their dominant market position by strong-arming OEMs). Forcing Apple to open up would require something like a US equivalent to the EU’s recent Digital Markets Act.

    • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
      10·
      27 days ago

      IIRC they are doing things like requiring payments to go through them, and all kinds of other monopolistic stuff. Yeah, they aren’t doing all the same things, but they’re doing a lot of it, and it’s more restricted by default so it’s even more pervasive.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
          1·
          27 days ago

          Ah, OK. I don’t think I ever heard about that resolving, or if I did I didn’t care. That’s good that they were forced to allow that. It should probably go further still, like this Google case.

          • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.worldEnglish
            4·
            27 days ago

            The point is, it can’t go further like in this Google case, because Google is abusing their dominant market position and Apple isn’t.

            Google is doing something illegal. Apple is doing something legal, but anti-consumer.

            That’s why I said in order to go after Apple, the US would first need something akin to the EU’s Digital Markets Act.

            • Cethin@lemmy.zipEnglish
              1·
              26 days ago

              It could absolutely be argued Apple is definitely doing illegal stuff too. Just because you don’t think so doesn’t mean that’s true. Apple is doing a lot of things to lock consumers onto their platform and not allowing competition.