Google Offices Raided (Again) By KFTC Officials In Korea Over Antitrust Concerns
Google has long been the target of antitrust investigations and it looks like their offices in South Korea are the subject of a raid… again. Google’s offices in Seoul were once again greeted by an impromptu raid from the Korea Fair Trade Commission, who happens to be investigating Google over concerns the big G is using Android, and its market dominance, are give the internet search giant an unfair advantage over third-party search engines within their mobile OS. The complaint comes from a 2 South Korean Internet companies — Daum Communications and NHN — and as you may recall, is the reason the same Google offices were raided last September.
As most Android users know, OEM’s and carriers can (and often do) implement which ever search engine they want in Android. Google also testifies to this saying last year, “We do not require carriers or manufacturers to include Google Search or Google applications on Android-powered devices.” The KFTC also believes believes Google hasn’t been playing nice during the investigation, allegedly deleting sensitive documents during the raid. Google on the other hand says they’ll “continue cooperating with this and other government inquiries.”
Google services aren’t mandatory. We’ve seen plenty of Android devices come devoid of Google applications and services. Apparently nobody sent the KFTC the memo. Google is facing the same issues in Europe where the European Union Competition Commissioner is giving Google until July 2nd to respond to with a settlement offer. Oh, Google…
[AllThingsD | Cnet | TheVerge | Engadget]