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by Cthulhu_ 4194 days ago
Because Opera, and before that the company behind Real Player, are anal like that and the EU went and agreed with them for some silly reason. They never did go after Apple, or Google / Android, or whatever for doing the exact same thing (pre-installing a media player / browser). I guess you could argue that Microsoft was singled out because their browser was an inherent component of their OS, but at the same time you could go after Apple and Android as well for their webview that is required to be used in all applications that need one.
2 comments
icebraining 4194 days ago
They don't go after Apple, because bundling by itself is not prohibited, only if you have an overwhelming control of the market, which Windows had but iOS doesn't. And I wouldn't be surprised at all if the EU started pressuring Google on the Android front in the near future - they're already talking about splitting up the company.

(Again, not advocating, just explaining)

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icantthinkofone 4194 days ago
The EU has no control over splitting up Google or the ability to make that happen.

As far as Android goes, Google has no monopoly on the phone business.

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cLeEOGPw 4194 days ago
He meant there are talks in google to split the company in order to avoid application of monopoly laws.
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icebraining 4194 days ago
No, I meant what I said. Specifically, I was referring to this[1], where the EP says regulators should consider splitting up search engines from other commercial services.

That doesn't mean I believe they well split them up - nor does the resolution say that, it's just a recommendation - but it does mean they're increasing the pressure on Google, and so potentially on Android as well.

[1] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/2014...

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icantthinkofone 4194 days ago
That link says nothing about anything you just said and doesn't mention Google directly either other than the general reference of "search engines".
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icebraining 4194 days ago
Unbundling the search engine from all other commercial services essentially means splitting the company in two, even if they can still be called both "Google". Maybe I'm reading to much into it, but everyone else (Reuters. Telegraph, FT and a lot of others) seem to agree. In any case, all I'm saying I'd that it represents increased pressure, nothing more.

As for not mentioning Google directly, that's not really a great puzzle. Google is the only search engine with any relevance in a regulatory sense, and MEPs have mentioned it before. Of course, they must remain impartial, but it's not DDG they're worried about :)

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crdoconnor 4194 days ago
>They never did go after Apple, or Google / Android, or whatever for doing the exact same thing

Duh. Because neither one had a monopoly.

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