Google’s South Korean offices
based in Seoul have today been raided by the Korean Fair Trade
Commission. The exact reasons for the raid are still unknown at the
moment but its thought they are linked to alleged antitrust violations.
Complaints were filed back in April by NHN Corp and Daum Communications Corp with antitrust regulators, stating that Android
smartphones have Google’s search engine installed as a default
navigation tool and are "systematically designed” to make it virtually
impossible to switch to another option
Google has issued the following statement:
"We will work with the KFTC to address any questions they may
have about our business,” – "Android is an open platform, and carrier
and OEM partners are free to decide which applications and services to
include on their Android phones. We do not require carriers or
manufacturers to include Google Search or Google applications on
Android-powered devices.”
Its not the first time the Google Seoul office have been
raided back in May by South Korean police investigated suspicions that
Google’s mobile advertising unit AdMob, had illegally collected personal location data without permission.
Source: Reuters |