The Russian Commission of Antitrust has ruled that Google has violated Russian antitrust law and recommended that Google “end [the] abuse of its dominant market position”, in what appears to be yet another instance of Google becoming involved in an antitrust controversy.
The ruling comes as rival Yandex filed a lawsuit against Google earlier this year. Yandex claims that services including search, maps, and email should be unbundled from Google’s Android operating system based on antitrust law.
The commission will inform the companies within 10 days about its recommended actions.
Google has been experiencing accusations of abusing its monopoly throughout the European Union. Last April, the European Commission filed formal antitrust charges against Google because of widespread complaints concerning the company.
The technology company is being accused of favoring its own services, such as its search, maps, and email, on its phone operating systems instead of the services offered by other companies.
Furthermore, search results using Google often favor the other services that are offered by Google.
Google, predictably, disagrees with these allegations.
In April, the company said, “While Google may be the most-used search engine, people can now find and access information in numerous different ways, and allegations of harm, for consumers and competitors, have proved to be wide of the mark. In fact, people have more choice than ever before.”
As of last April, Google maintains a 90% market share of online searches. The European Commission claims that Google utilizes this overwhelming share to support its own shopping services.
In the United States, Google faced a similar investigation more than two years ago. However, the investigation was ultimately closed after Google agreed to voluntary changes. Between 2009 and 2015, Google employees met with White House officials on more than 230 different occasions.
The latest charges add to what is surely a multi-billion dollar legal problem for the search giant. The EU commission alone is seeking penalties in the tens of billions of dollars in addition to major concessions about how Google conducts its business. The company is currently facing probes in Canada, Europe, The United States, Russia, and India.
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