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The European Union (EU) is set to hit Google with a 4.3 billion euro ($5billion) fine for using its Android system to block rivals, thereby breakimg antitrust laws.
The European Commission accused Google of abusing its Android market dominance by bundling its search engine and Chrome apps into the operating system. Google has also allegedly blocked phone makers from creating devices that run forked versions of Android.
Last year, the company was fined $2.7 billion over manipulated search results, although it is still appealing that particular judgment in a case that may last years.
Facebook, Intel, and Microsoft have all faced significant anti-competition fines from the European Commission.
The EU has been investigating Android more closely over the past year after rivals complained that Google has been abusing its market dominance in software than runs on smartphones. FairSearch originally filed a complaint against Google back in 2013, and the group included competitors like Nokia, Microsoft, and Oracle.
According to The Verge, Android has long been considered as open source software, but Google has slowly been adding key components into its Google Play Services software and associated agreements. Alongside anti-fragmentation agreements to keep manufacturers on Google’s version of Android, most Android handsets (outside of China) now ship with Google’s software and services bundled on them.