US antitrust authorities could follow EU in investigating Google's Android deals

U.S. antitrust authorities may be ready to follow their European counterparts in investigating how Google licenses its apps and services for use on Android smartphones.

Authorities in Russia found Google guilty of similar charges last week.

Android is an open-source operating system, but many of the apps and services that Android phone and tablet buyers see and use are proprietary Google offerings, including Google Now, the Play Store, and Google Maps.

Some companies  -- most notably Amazon.com in the U.S. and Yandex in Russia -- have sold Android tablets and phones without Google's suite of apps and services, replacing them with their own equivalents. A complaint from Yandex triggered the Russian case decided last week.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here