Google Faces Android Antitrust Lawsuit From Poor Search Sufferers

Google is facing an antitrust lawsuit in the US over claims that it has “illegally monopolised, and financially and creatively stagnated the American market of Internet and mobile search,” by requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-load its applications on their handset.

Law firm Hagens Berman has filed a class-action lawsuit in the Northern District of California on behalf of Android smartphone owners who believe that they would have better search functionality had it not been for Google’s actions.

A choice of search engines would have, in their eyes, resulted in competing services improving through repeated use, while Google has no reason to improve its own search engine because it has established an alleged monopoly.

Android antitrust lawsuit

The filing says the pre-loading of applications was facilitated by secret mobile application distribution agreements (MADA) that are hidden and marked to be viewed only by attorneys. It also states that Google has kept the prices of smartphones artificially high as a result of it alleged anti-competitive measures.

“It’s clear that Google has not achieved this monopoly through offering a better search engine, but through its strategic, anti-competitive placement, and it doesn’t take a forensic economist to see that this is evidence of market manipulation,” says Steve Berman, attorney at Hagens Berman. “Simply put, there is no lawful, pro-competitive reason for Google to condition licenses to pre-load popular Google apps like this.

“Instead of finding a way to legitimately out-compete other internet and mobile search providers, they instead decided to choke off competition through this cynical, anti-consumer scheme.

“As a result of the pricing conspiracy, everyone loses. Google and its competitors face an uncompetitive, stagnant market, and consumers are forced into one option.”

The lawsuit is demanding compensation for Android users who have suffered from poor search or purchased a device with an artificially high price.

Google’s dominant position in the search market has attracted attention from a number of authorities, including the European Union, which recently finalised a package of concessions with the company, which has promised to change the way it presents search results to make its competitors’ links more visible. However the package did not focus on Android, which is the world’s most popular mobile operating system.

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