Google Agrees To Open Android To Other Search Engines In Russia

Google has reached a $7.8 million antitrust settlement with Russian watchdog group FAS. According to BGR, the company will loosen restrictions on Android's built-in search engines to allow for Russian competitors to take a share of the pie. From the report: Android's heavy reliance on Google services is to be expected, but in 2015 the Russian antitrust group -- officially the Federal Antimonopoly Service -- ruled that Google was breaking the law by forcing users to lean on Google for search. The ruling was the result of a complaint filed by Yandex, a Russian competitor to Google that runs the largest search engine in the country as well as web mail, news, maps, and other services. Google's settlement of the issue comes with the condition that Android will no longer lock down the search engine to Google, and must allow users the ability to change it if they want from within the Chrome web browser. Google will also loosen its exclusivity of the default apps on Android devices sold in Russia, potentially allowing for Yandex and other regional competitors to muscle in and replace the built-in apps with their own versions, depending on user preference.

And Baidu soon hopefully

[Anonymous Coward]

For exactly the same reasons and logic as Yandex in Russia, it is only natural the same thing to happen with Baidu in China as well.
And hopefully this is good news for real, proper, untainted, diversity and choice.

Commies

[110010001000]

Darn commies. Always trying to create a free market and competition. Don't they know what is good for the mega-Corporations is good for the People?

Re:

[iampiti]

Last time I checked the Google search bar couldn't be removed on the official Google launcher (whatever it's called). I think that's what people are referring to.
Btw, I don't know about other phones but the Samsung launcher doesn't have that limitation on my Galaxy s4.

Re:

[Luthair]

Can't you just change the launcher?

in Soviet Russia we google you!

[Joe_Dragon]

in Soviet Russia we google you!

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

In Soviet Russia, Google searches you!

This shouldn't even need Google's "permission"

[Anonymous Coward]

What a sham this Android thing is. All of these "mobile" computers (oh, excuse me, "devices").

When will we again have freedom to compute?

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

Android isn't even useful for a computer. Trying to get stuff done with it is a nightmare.

Re:

[iampiti]

The future looks bad. It's even going the other way on PCs: Macs by default only let you install apps from the official store (just like a smartphone) and Microsoft is pushing the same thing on Windows 10.

Re:

[Desler]

And Windows is built by Microsoft, but I doubt you would support them only allowing one to use IE and Bing.

Re:

[pr0fessor]

I pay for Windows and it isn't open source so I can't fork it...

Android is open source and can be forked it's the google apps on top that are proprietary... Fire OS is a successful fork of android open source.

They basically just told google that they can't setup a contract with a vendor to install it with their proprietary apps to the exclusion of others... that doesn't mean that anyone else has a viable set of apps to install on top of the very limited android base because at this point google has a huge j

Re:

[Zaphon]

Exactly, you can do whatever you want with Android, just don't expect to use the Google Services (Google Play Store, etc.). Amazon did it, others have done it. This just smells to high heaven to me.

Re:

[pr0fessor]

I think they were annoyed that google would make exclusive contracts now google won't make an exclusive contract but that doesn't mean they have to make or support services for other vendors.

either you buy our services or someone else's... oh they don't have any then I guess you are buying ours but on a non-exclusive contract for a much higher dollar amount.

I don't need another search engines on my Android:

[LordHighExecutioner]

What I need is a search engine capable to search and find where I left my Android smartphone. I left it somewhere in my home a week ago, and it is still missing...

Re:

[swillden]

What I need is a search engine capable to search and find where I left my Android smartphone. I left it somewhere in my home a week ago, and it is still missing...

After a week I don't have anything to suggest. If you were looking for it earlier, before the battery died, then Android Device Manager [google.com] might be able to help you. It can show a map with the location of your phone, which might help to localize which part of the house it's in, and it can remotely trigger your device to ring at full volume for five minutes, which usually makes it pretty easy to find.

I once used this to help my brother find his phone, when it had fallen out of his pocket and onto a mountain r

And a new evil is born...

[evolutionary]

Google had always said that their goal was to do no evil, but in locking Russian (or any country's) users to their tools alone, they are in the same realms of evil as Microsoft and Apple. It's ironic it takes a country with an Iron Hand to get Google to play fair. A warning to us all: any company they gets too big is going to get abusive without government or large scale public intervention.

Too Successful!

[Ayanami_R]

Again!

Re:

[jaklode]

Sure, go to Chrome, Settings, Search Engine, and select what the fuck you want. It even learns new search engines when you visit them. You can also replace the assistant with any third party app, there's a setting for it (oddly enough, Firefox registers as one, and gives you a search bar when you long press home). And well, default apps: You could always get all gapps or none.

Precisely what Android was built for

[iampiti]

Android was built so that Google could get even more personal data from you. I'd say it's worked pretty well because they now have lots of data from people who even don't use computers.
While that a legitimate (IMO) business model it's annoying since Google will logically push their services hard on Android devices and that's just what has been happening in the last few years in Android.
Also I wouldn't mind paying a license to use Android and then be able to use Android just like a PC, i.e.: Being able to

Pity the same was not true for USA companies

[ukoda]

The Android product I work on can not have Play Store as we are not allow to include it because we use our own mapping software, not Google Maps. It is ironical that Russian companies can now complete with USA companies with an advantage when producing Android products. Maybe we should shift software development from the USA to Russia so we can offer a better product. Yes, I realise that last statement is flame bait, but how long until some people in management actually start thinking that way?

Re:

[swillden]

The Android product I work on can not have Play Store as we are not allow to include it because we use our own mapping software, not Google Maps.

Huh? I don't know of any Play store rule against other mapping software, and in fact there are many, many other map apps on Play.

Re:

[ukoda]

If you want to bundle certain Google Apps, notably the Play Store app itself, you are not allow to ship your Android device with any competing applications to the standard Google applications such as Google Maps or GMail etc. You must also include all the specified Google Apps, you can not pick and chose what you think is best for your product. The legal conditions for including Google Apps are very draconian, which is what the Russian were complaining about. They got a win on the issue but for the rest

Re:

[swillden]

Ah, you're building a device, not an app. Sorry, that wasn't clear.