Google Filing Says EU's Antitrust Division is Investigating Play Store Practices

A Google regulatory filing appears to have confirmed rumors in recent months that the European Union's competition division is looking into how it operates its smartphone app store, the Play Store. From a report: However TechCrunch understands that no formal EU investigation into the Play Store has been opened at this stage. The SEC Form 10-Q, filed by Google's parent Alphabet, does make mention of "formal" investigations being opened into Google Play's "business practices" back in May 2022 -- by both the European Commission and the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

Thing is, the Commission's procedure on opening a formal competition investigation is to make a public announcement -- so the lack of that standard piece of regulatory disclosure suggests any EU investigation is at a more preliminary stage than Google's citation might imply. The U.K. antitrust regulator's probe of Google Play is undoubtedly a formal investigation -- having been publicly communicated by the CMA back in June -- when it said it would probe Google's rules governing apps' access to listing on its Play Store, looking at conditions it sets for how users can make in-app payments for certain digital products. While, back in August, Politico reported that the Commission had sent questionnaires probing Play Store billing terms and developer fees -- citing two people close to the matter. And potentially suggesting an investigation was underway.

play store vs apple store

[ganjadude]

I wont pretend to know all the ins and outs, however I will say that with google, i can install 3rd party stores or even download APKs from the web.

With apple, its apples way or no way. Based on this im a little confused on why anyone is concerned with the play store

Re:

[tlhIngan]

With apple, its apples way or no way. Based on this im a little confused on why anyone is concerned with the play store

Apple is already under investigation.

Google isn't. But the problem is, if you want play store, Google requires you to agree to a lot more terms that dictate how your device will look and feel. Basically if you want any Google app, you must have all the google apps. So if you want Play Store, you must have Google Maps, Hangouts (or whatever it is this week), GMail, etc. on the home screen.

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[thegarbz]

Based on this im a little confused on why anyone is concerned with the play store

If I punch you hard in the face and then told you "it's okay, there's a murderer running around, don't concern yourself with me" would you be okay with it?

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Presentation

[KathleenEmbree]

I've heard a lot about the Play store. They have a very good reputation and high quality marketing. What is the presentation of their products worth. It would be cool to learn how to do this, because a well-presented product attracts potential buyers faster and more efficiently. Therefore, it is worth paying special attention to design ppt slides [slidepeak.com] for the benefit of business development, not only at the stage of construction, but also for promotion as well.