India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse • Hacker News Board

Re: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse

#11

Post by vatueil » Sat, May 11, 2019, 10:58 AM UTC

scblzn wrote: post #3

Recently there was this too (made quite some noise on social networks) : https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/05/08/kiwi-browser-remove... Ok, this story is more about Google Play Store but I feel like there is maybe (in my opinion) some conflict and abuse of dominant position here too. Felt like it was relevant will all the other Google stories in the last days (Nest for ex.)

Just curious, this Kiwi Browser is a Chromium fork, but is it or is it not open source?

I see that there's a repo on GitHub: https://github.com/kiwibrowser/android

But the status of the code is unclear (the readme just says it's unsupported), and the last public commit was months ago while the app on the Play Store (having been restored) was updated much more recently.

Re: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse

#12

Post by webbrahmin » Sat, May 11, 2019, 11:18 AM UTC

kkarakk wrote: post #8

snr wrote: post #5

Make it "punishable by up to 5% of global turnover over last three years" (kinda similar to GDPR) and stand back and see how quickly Google (I'm looking at you too Facebook, and Amazon) will change their shit show. India is at a position of strength wrt Google, Amazon, and Fb to easily force them to play nice. Now if only they realized it.

it's india, i doubt anything will happen besides some combination of judge/businessman/politician getting their hands nice and greased up. only reason they even care is because the EU got google to cough up already, they're in it for their pound of flesh.

I will disagree with you here. Cases which are in the public eye are settled without the things you mentioned. There are Indian government institutions which are honest. Financial regulator and watchdog SEBI is one such institution. I have worked in the financial services industry are we were scared of SEBI. Competition Commission of India is also nonpartisan and has never been in a corruption scandal as far as I know.

Re: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse

#13

Post by amf12 » Sat, May 11, 2019, 11:26 AM UTC

dqybh wrote: post #7

Isn't it election time in India?

Majority Indians don't give a shit about this or understand it enough to influence elections.

Re: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse

#14

Post by pjmlp » Sat, May 11, 2019, 11:28 AM UTC

vatueil wrote: post #10

pjmlp wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neither is Android. AOSP is a very small part of what actually makes Android on the eyes of consumers.

Depending on how "what actually makes Android on the eyes of consumers" is defined, it's certainly possible to minimize the role of AOSP. At the same time, we're getting articles talking about how Microsoft is now an "open source company" because their proprietary operating system can run Linux and some open source apps: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/05/microsoft-the-open-s...

It goes to both.

Re: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse

#15

Post by onetimemanytime » Sat, May 11, 2019, 11:32 AM UTC

death by dozen cuts. If major countries keep fining and forcing them to change behavior eventually it will hurt

Re: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse

#16

Post by jfoster » Sat, May 11, 2019, 12:13 PM UTC

onetimemanytime wrote: post #15

death by dozen cuts. If major countries keep fining and forcing them to change behavior eventually it will hurt

Countries probably need Android more than Android needs countries.

How would India like to have a choice between iOS & BlackBerry? Android losing India as a market would suck a bit for Android, but life would go on.

Re: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse

#17

Post by zuron7 » Sat, May 11, 2019, 12:23 PM UTC

The irony is strong with this one considering a lot of Government apps do not work without Google Play Services. Including incredibly popular payment apps like BHIM which was developed by NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India). I know cos I have a phone without Play Services and using Government apps is out of question. Thankfully, there are web alternatives for all servuces

Re: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse

#18

Post by billfruit » Sat, May 11, 2019, 12:43 PM UTC

Indian anti trust mechanisms are weak and ineffective, many government owned companies are themselves indulging in activities which should invite anti trust measures, so I hardly see anything significant coming out of this move.

Re: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse

#19

Post by jimam » Sat, May 11, 2019, 12:44 PM UTC

jfoster wrote: post #16

onetimemanytime wrote: post #15

death by dozen cuts. If major countries keep fining and forcing them to change behavior eventually it will hurt

Countries probably need Android more than Android needs countries. How would India like to have a choice between iOS & BlackBerry? Android losing India as a market would suck a bit for Android, but life would go on.

There are probably more Android devices in India than in the US.

Re: India orders anti-trust probe of Google for alleged Android abuse

#20

Post by onetimemanytime » Sat, May 11, 2019, 1:01 PM UTC

jfoster wrote: post #16

onetimemanytime wrote: post #15

death by dozen cuts. If major countries keep fining and forcing them to change behavior eventually it will hurt

Countries probably need Android more than Android needs countries. How would India like to have a choice between iOS & BlackBerry? Android losing India as a market would suck a bit for Android, but life would go on.

That's not how the game is played. Google cannot afford to lose India, like it lost China. India will then go after G Search etc etc.