Trump slams record European Union fine against Google

European antitrust regulators fined Google a record 4.34 billion euros (US$5 billion) on Wednesday and ordered it to stop using its popular Android mobile operating system to block rivals, Reuters reports.

It’s been confirmed: the European Union has fined Google a record €4.34 billion ($5 billion).

The commission further describes the gravity of the antitrust breach as follows: The Company compelled phone makers to ensure the pre-installation of Google Search as well as Chrome browser on all phones operating on Android, it also accepted to remunerate the manufacturers and network operators only if they made the Google Search the exclusive search app.

Mr Trump tweeted on Thursday: “I told you so!” This refers to the fact that the company has allegedly made sure its Google Search app is pre-installed on most of the Android devices sold in the EEA.

Google has been quietly working for years on a replacement for Android, the operating system that powers three quarters of the world’s smartphones.

The search giant ultimately gave “financial incentives” to manufacturers and mobile network operators, if they exclusively pre-installed the Google Search app on their devices, the commission said. These practices have denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete on the merits.

As a consumer, I’d like all phone makers, whether their gadgets run Android, the iOS, Samsung’s Tizen, Linux or something even more exotic, to offer me a choice of apps. A journalist quoted Trump, who told European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the G7 meeting last month: “Your tax lady really hates the USA”.

The EU’s ruling caps an investigation that goes back at least three years.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post after the European Union ruling on Wednesday that Android created more choice for everyone and that the decision rejects the business model that supports the operating system. And if Google does not change its practices, the penalty will keep on increasing.

DuckDuckGo, a search engine that doesn’t track users, said in a Tweet that Google’s actions have led directly to us having less market share on Android.

The penalty is almost double the previous record of 2.4 billion euros which Google was ordered to pay a year ago after its online shopping search service was deemed to be unfair to competitors.

Android is an open-source operating system that Google lets cellphone makers use for free.

Still, some USA politicians welcomed the ruling. It also wants cellphone makers to be able to more easily use altered versions of Android, like Amazon’s Fire OS. “They could these users to try their own services before they get completely hooked on Google”. “Our position is not altruistic, and we are not defending open source”, wrote Bruce Gustafson, President & CEO of the Developers Alliance in a recent blog post.