Google has agreed to pay $7.8m in fines and rewrite contracts with smartphone manufacturers under a settlement with Russia’s anti-monopoly watchdog over access to the Android operating system.
The settlement ends a two-year legal battle after regulators — acting on a complaint filed by Yandex, Google’s main competitor in Russia — found that Google apps were being given prominence over rivals on Android-based smartphones.
Under the agreement, which is to last for six years and nine months, Google will have to sign new contracts with manufacturers that allow them to pre-install competitors’ apps on Android phones’ home screens.
Google and Yandex agreed that further versions of Chrome and the Android search widget will give Russian users the option of switching to Yandex’s search engine.
The changes, which will take place in the next few months, will come as default on new Android phones and be implemented in future versions of Chrome for phones already in use. “We are happy to continue to offer our services to users in Russia,” Matt Sucherman, deputy general counsel for Google, said in a statement.
Full Content: Bloomberg
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