Tech giant Google recently announced that its open-source alternative to Facebook’s Instant Articles and Apple’s News app will finally arrive early in 2016. (Photo : Reuters)
Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) stated that Google violated Russian fair market rules. The agency is giving the tech giant until Nov. 18 to meet all the necessary requirements as well as fix all the allegations that the company is facing.
Early in 2015, Russian company Yandex filed a complaint into the FAS regarding unfair competition practices especially in bundled apps with Android smartphones. Yandex is Google's largest competitor in the Russian market.
According to Android Headlines, after eight months of deliberation, FAS demand that Google should fix all is unfair practices which could include working with its competitors. The demand from the agency could also mean that Google will have to unbundle some of its apps included in the Android operating system in order to meet the requirements imposed on the fair competition protocol.
The FAS released a statement regarding the issue with Google saying, "To restore competition on the market, Google should amend agreements with mobile-device producers within a month and exclude the anti-competitive clauses."
Several markets have already probed Google regarding unfair market practices. Just like previous allegations, Yandex hardware manufacturers for the Google Android platform are required to include certain services and apps. In line with this, Google issued a statement stating that it plans to bundle fewer apps and services into its operating system. The statement is considered by many analysts as a first step into agreeing with the FAS ruling.
According to Tech Crunch, Yandex beats Google in the Russian online search market. However, Google has a tight grip on the Russian mobile market and this is where Yandex is trying to take a piece of the action. The Russian tech company has even launched its own App Store for Android.
