South Korea's antitrust regulator has fined South Korea's antitrust regulator has fined Alphabet's Google KRW 42.1 billion ($31.88 million) for blocking the release of mobile video games on a competitor's platform.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said on Tuesday that
Google bolstered its market dominance, and hurt the local app market One
Store's revenue and value as a platform, by requiring video game makers to
exclusively release their titles on Google Play in exchange for providing
in-app exposure between June 2016 and April 2018.
Google said it will review the final decision by the KFTC to
evaluate the next course of action.
"Google makes substantial investments in the success of
developers, and we respectfully disagree with the KFTC's conclusions", a
spokesperson said.
The KFTC said the move against the US technology giant is
part of efforts by the government to ensure fair markets.
Game makers affected by Google's action include Netmarble,
Nexon, and NCSOFT, as well as other smaller companies, the antitrust regulator
added.
In 2021, Google was fined more than 200 billion won by the
KFTC for blocking customised versions of its Android operating system.
Earlier this month, top startups in India called on the
country's competition watchdog to launch an inquiry into Google for allegedly
bypassing an antitrust directive by charging a high service fee for in-app
payments, a filing showed.
The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) filing
marked the latest tussle between Google and Indian startups, which have
repeatedly criticized the US company for imposing unfair business restrictions
that hurt smaller players.
"Google's policy change of charging service fee even on
transactions processed by third-party payment processors ... has detrimental
consequences for users and app developers," the 15-page confidential March
complaint by ADIF said.
Google, which declined to comment, has previously said the
service fee supports investments in the Google Play app store and the Android
mobile operating system, ensuring it distributes it for free and covers
developer tools and analytic services. © Reuters
Alphabet's Google KRW 42.1 billion ($31.88 million) for blocking the release of mobile video games on a competitor's platform.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said on Tuesday that
Google bolstered its market dominance, and hurt the local app market One
Store's revenue and value as a platform, by requiring video game makers to
exclusively release their titles on Google Play in exchange for providing
in-app exposure between June 2016 and April 2018.
Google said it will review the final decision by the KFTC to
evaluate the next course of action.
"Google makes substantial investments in the success of
developers, and we respectfully disagree with the KFTC's conclusions", a
spokesperson said.
The KFTC said the move against the US technology giant is
part of efforts by the government to ensure fair markets.
Game makers affected by Google's action include Netmarble,
Nexon, and NCSOFT, as well as other smaller companies, the antitrust regulator
added.
In 2021, Google was fined more than 200 billion won by the
KFTC for blocking customised versions of its Android operating system.
Earlier this month, top startups in India called on the
country's competition watchdog to launch an inquiry into Google for allegedly
bypassing an antitrust directive by charging a high service fee for in-app
payments, a filing showed.
The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) filing
marked the latest tussle between Google and Indian startups, which have
repeatedly criticized the US company for imposing unfair business restrictions
that hurt smaller players.
"Google's policy change of charging service fee even on
transactions processed by third-party payment processors ... has detrimental
consequences for users and app developers," the 15-page confidential March
complaint by ADIF said.
Google, which declined to comment, has previously said the
service fee supports investments in the Google Play app store and the Android
mobile operating system, ensuring it distributes it for free and covers
developer tools and analytic services. © Reuters
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