The Justice Department is considering a probe into potential anti-competitive behavior with their Android OS product.
Investigators at the Department of Justice told lawmakers in Washington D.C. this week that they were considering a probe into possible anti-competitive behavior by Google. The investigators implied that certain practices with Google’s Android OS has stifled competition.
This summer, the European Union hit Google with a $5 billion antitrust fine after they ruled that Google had stifled competition by forcing Android device makers to set Google’s search and browser product and default features.
“The fine is based on the length of the infraction, but also on whether antitrust authorities believe there was an intention to commit the offense, and whether they excluded competitors or not,” one source said at the time the penalty was handed down.
Now, American regulators may pressure to ensure that Google doesn’t stifle their competitors in the United States by employing similar practices.
Tech giants like Google and Facebook have faced increased scrutiny over the past two years as both lawmakers and users have questioned their insatiable thirst for user data. At a Breitbart News event that took place in April, tech industry experts sounded off about the dangers of allowing companies like Google to exist with little to no competition in the market.
“Google’s influence just keeps spreading and spreading without us being aware,” Dr. Robert Epstein said at the event. “There’s an illusion of some competition and so on, but actually there’s less and less and less competition. Google’s index is the best. It’s the biggest. How can you compete with that?”
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