Yesterday the European Commission fined Google $5 billion and also ruled that Google’s apps like Chrome and their search app should not be bundled in their Android OS. Google confirmed yesterday that they would appeal the decision.
Now Google has revealed that this new ruling by the EU regulators could mean that their Android OS will no longer be free. Google’s CEO Sundar Pinchai recently spoke to The Verge about the ruling, you can see what he had to say below.
“If phone makers and mobile network operators couldn’t include our apps on their wide range of devices, it would upset the balance of the Android ecosystem,.
“So far, the Android business model has meant that we haven’t had to charge phone makers for our technology, or depend on a tightly controlled distribution model,” says Pichai. “But we are concerned that today’s decision will upset the careful balance that we have struck with Android, and that it sends a troubling signal in favor of proprietary systems over open platforms.”
Around 50 percent of Google’s advertising revenue comes from mobile, so this ruling could affect that significantly. Google are appealing the ruling by the EU reulators and it will be interesting to find out what happens during the appeal.
Source The Verge
