February 14, 2017
– The investigation centers on the 2011 Mobile Application Distribution Agreement between Google and Samsung which says that all of Samsung’s Android smartphones have to use Google as the default search engine.
The agreement also stipulates that Samsung’s devices must come with Google apps preinstalled —such as Gmail, YouTube, and the Google Play Store. In addition, an anti-fragmentation agreement was reached, and under that agreement, Samsung can’t develop its own Android-based operating system.
There is an additional “anti-fragmentation” agreement that says Samsung can’t develop its own Android-based operating system, reports Digital Trends.
Google was previously under investigation by South Korean authorities for unfair competition with Naver and Daum —the nation’s top two search engines— claiming the smartphone search engine agreement violated the Antitrust Law.
However, Google was cleared of all charges by the FTC in 2013.
(By Staff)