Here’s Why Russia Is Cracking Down on Google

2 minute read
A model of the Android operating system logo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 27, 2012.
A model of the Android operating system logo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 27, 2012.Bloomberg via Getty Images
By Victor Luckerson

Google may be running afoul of anti-monopoly laws in Russia. The country’s regulators are investigating the way the search giant bundles its apps onto Android devices in response to a complaint by Yandex, Russia’s leading search engine, according to The Guardian.

Yandex is taking issue with the fact that smartphone makers have been blocked from pre-installing the company’s services, which compete with Google’s, on Android phones in the country. Google restricts which apps can be pre-installed on the most popular version of Android. A fully open-source version of the software, which is used to power mobile operating systems used by Amazon and Xiaomi, is freely available but doesn’t include access to the Google Play store.

Google has faced legal scrutiny in multiple markets for the way it controls the Android ecosystem. In Europe regulators are reportedly planning to launch a formal inquiry into Google’s mandates regarding pre-installed apps, according to Reuters. In the U.S. a lawsuit claiming that Google harms smartphone buyers by forcing Samsung and others to pre-install Google apps on their Android phones was dismissed by a federal judge last week.

Read next: Why Chevron Is Helping Fund STEM Education

Google Street View Captures the Monuments of Ancient Egypt

The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza.
The Great Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google
The Great Pyramid Khufu in Giza.
The Great Pyramid Khufu in Giza. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google
The Pyramid of Khafre in Giza.
The Pyramid of Khafre in Giza. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google
The Cathedral of Saint Mina in the Western Desert near Alexandria.
The Cathedral of Saint Mina in the Western Desert near Alexandria. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google
The Monastery of Saint Mina in the Western Desert near Alexandria.
The Monastery of Saint Mina in the Western Desert near Alexandria. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google
The Cairo Citadel entrance.
The Cairo Citadel entrance. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google
The view from the Cairo Citadel terrace.
The view from the Cairo Citadel terrace. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google
The Enclosure Wall at the Step Pyramid of King Djoser at Saqqara.
The Enclosure Wall at the Step Pyramid of King Djoser at Saqqara. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google
The Pyramid of Djoser at the Saqqara necropolis.
The Pyramid of Djoser at the Saqqara necropolis. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google
The Citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria.
The Citadel of Qaitbay in Alexandria. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google
The Hanging Church in Cairo.
The Hanging Church in Cairo. Click here to view in Google Street View.Google

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