Homepage / Technology / EU ruling may be too little, too late to stop Google's mobile dominance
Amazon says this Prime Day was its biggest shopping event ever Kudlow says President Trump is 'so dissatisfied' with China trade talks that he is keeping the pressure on As stocks regain their footing, an ominous warning looms Goldman Sachs downgrades Clorox to sell, says valuation is 'unsustainably high' How Satya Nadella has spurred a tripling of Microsoft's stock price in just over four years Kudlow says economic growth could top 4% for 'a quarter or two,' more tax cuts could be coming The one chart that explains Netflix’s stunning comeback US housing starts plunge 12% in June to a nine-month low Aerospace titans Boeing and Airbus top $110 billion in orders at Farnborough Target uses Prime Day to its advantage, logging its 'biggest online shopping day' so far this year Billionaire Marc Lasry sees bitcoin reaching up to $40,000 as it becomes more mainstream and easier to trade These are the 10 US airports where you're most likely to be hacked Amazon shares slightly higher as investors await Prime Day results Wreck of Russian warship found, believed to hold gold worth $130 billion A bullish ‘phenomenon’ in bond market is weeks away from fading, top credit strategist says Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: MS, GOOGL, TXN, UAL, NFLX & more Twitter shares up 50% since late April means most upside priced in, analyst says in downgrade EU fines Google $5 billion over Android antitrust abuse Mortgage applications fall 2.5% as buyers struggle to find affordable homes America may not have the tools to counter the next financial crisis, warn Bernanke, Geithner and Paulson Investors are getting spooked as the risk of a no-deal Brexit rises EU expected to fine Google $5 billion over Android antitrust abuse Ex-FBI chief James Comey urges Americans to vote for Democrats in midterm elections Elon Musk apologizes to British cave diver following baseless 'pedo guy' claim Disney, Comcast and Fox: All you need to know about one of the biggest media battles ever Xiaomi shares notch new high after Hong Kong, mainland China stock exchanges reach agreement The trade war is complicating China's efforts to fix its economy European markets set for a strong open amid earnings; Google in focus Hedge fund billionaire Einhorn places sixth in major poker tournament The biggest spender of political ads on Facebook? President Trump Asian stocks poised to gain after Fed's Powell gives upbeat comments; dollar firmer Stocks are setting up to break to new highs Not all FAANG stocks are created equal EU ruling may be too little, too late to stop Google's mobile dominance Cramer explains how Netflix's stock managed to taper its drop after disappointing on earnings Airbnb condemns New York City's 'bellhop politics,' threatens legal retaliation Amazon sellers say they were unfairly suspended right before Prime Day, and now have two bad choices Investor explains why 'duller' tech stocks can have better returns than 'high-flying' tech names Elon Musk is 'thin-skinned and short-tempered,' says tech VC Texas Instruments CEO Brian Crutcher resigns for violating code of conduct Google Cloud Platform fixes issues that took down Spotify, Snapchat and other popular sites Uber exec: We want to become the 'one stop' transportation app 'What a dumb hearing,' says Democrat as Congress grills tech companies on conservative bias Amazon shares rebound, report says Prime Day sales jumped 89 percent in first 12 hours of the event How to put your medical history on your iPhone in less than 5 minutes Investment chief: Watch these two big events in 2018 Even with Netflix slowing, the market rally is likely not over Cramer: Netflix subscriber weakness debunks the 'sky's the limit' theory on the stock Netflix is looking at watch time as a new area of growth, but the competition is stiff Why Nobel laureate Richard Thaler follows Warren Buffett's advice to avoid bitcoin Rolls-Royce is developing tiny 'cockroach' robots to crawl in and fix airplane engines After Netflix plunge, Wall Street analysts forecast just tame returns ahead for the once high-flying FANG group Roku shares rise after analyst raises streaming video company's price target due to customer growth China is investing 9 times more into Europe than into North America, report reveals Amazon says US Prime Day sales 'so far bigger than ever' as glitch is resolved Netflix is on pace for its worst day in two years US lumber producers see huge opportunity, rush to expand San Francisco to consider tax on companies to help homeless Homebuilder sentiment, still high, stalls as tariffs, labor and land drive up costs Powell backs more rate hikes as economy growing 'considerably stronger' Netflix history is filled with big stock declines – like today – followed by bigger rebounds Intel shares get downgraded by Evercore ISI due to rising competition from Nvidia, AMD Petco aims to reinvent the pet store with something you can't buy online Genetic testing is coming of age, but for consumers it's buyer beware Tech 'FAANG' was the most-crowded trade in the world heading into the Netflix implosion, survey shows Netflix weak subscriber growth may indicate a 'maturity wall' that could whack the stock even more: Analyst This chart may be predicting the bull market's demise Wall Street says Netflix's stock plunge is a ‘compelling’ buying opportunity because the streaming giant ‘never misses twice’ Tesla sinks after Musk tweets, again Boeing announces new division devoted to flying taxis Stocks making the biggest move premarket: NFLX, UNH, GS, AMZN, WMT & more Deutsche Bank downgrades Netflix, but says big subscriber miss is not 'thesis changing' IBM is experimenting with a cryptocurrency that’s pegged to the US dollar North Korea and Zimbabwe: A friendship explained Virgin Galactic spinoff Orbit to launch rockets from the UK with space deal Artificial intelligence will create more jobs than it destroys? That’s what PwC says ‘Treasonous’ Trump and ‘Putin’s poodle:' Scathing headlines follow the Trump-Putin summit China’s fintech companies offer ‘enormous’ opportunity, investment manager says Trump's performance at summit with Putin was 'unprecedented,' experts say Walmart and Microsoft link up on cloud technology as they both battle Amazon European stocks seen mixed amid earnings; Fed’s Powell to address Congress How I knew I should quit my day job and run my start-up full-time: Viral website founder China's stocks have been trounced, but the trade war may ultimately be good news for those shares Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel bets on crypto start-up Block.one Asian shares subdued open after mixed close on Wall Street; energy stocks under pressure Amazon cloud hits snags after Amazon Prime Day downtime Netflix isn't doomed by one quarter unless people start questioning the long-term investor thesis Tech stocks set to sink on Tuesday after rough evening for ‘FANG’ Netflix plummets after missing big on subscriber growth This wristband lets humans control machines with their minds The U.S. has a rocky history convincing Russia to extradite computer criminals Amazon suffers glitches at the start of Prime Day Jeff Bezos is now the richest man in modern history 'The United States has been foolish': Read Trump and Putin's full exchange Goldman Sachs recommends these 5 highly profitable companies — including Nvidia — to combat rising inflation Goldman Sachs releases 'tactical' stock picks for this earnings season Three red flags for Netflix ahead of its earnings report The bond market may be raising recession fears, but don't expect one anytime soon Cramer: Banks are 'making fortunes' but are still as hated as they were during the financial crisis Putin told Trump at summit: Russia never meddled in US election

Technology

EU ruling may be too little, too late to stop Google's mobile dominance

On Wednesday, the European Union is expected to rule that Google illegally used the market dominance of its smartphone software, Android, to stifle competition, hitting the Alphabet-owned company with a hefty fine and aiming to change some of its business practices.

Although the EU is reportedly considering a record fine — higher than the $2.4 billion penalty it issued last year related to Google’s comparison shopping service — the money isn’t the real problem for Alphabet.

The maximum punishment the EU could issue is roughly $11 billion, or 10 percent of the company’s annual revenue, but the penalty is not expected to hit the high-end of that range. Plus, while $11 billion is a lot of money by any objective measurement, it’s still only a fraction of the $102 billion in cash and short-term investments Alphabet had on hand last quarter.

The real challenge for Google will come if the EU forces it to change its behavior.

Google lets phone makers use the open-source Android software for free, but the EU has accused it of using restrictive licensing practices to benefit its own services, including forcing phone makers to bundle Google products like Search, Maps and Chrome with its app store, Play. The EU was also investigating agreements Google made with other companies to exclusively pre-install its search app and preventing them from selling other phones that run modified versions of Android.

In theory, this decision could give other apps more room to compete with Google’s. Phone makers could auction off specific app categories to other app makers, and they’d be more likely to pay a high price if they didn’t have to compete with similar Google apps installed. Users might also be more likely to download third-party apps since they wouldn’t have a pre-installed option.

The ruling could also hamper the growth of Google’s advertising business, where growth is being driven by mobile rather than desktop ads. If Google is forced to stop offering its apps as a suite, it would lose that automatic phone real estate, where it can sell more far ads than through third-party products.

While some app makers have cheered this potential outcome, Gary Reback, the antitrust lawyer known for spearheading the efforts that led to the suit against Microsoft, is less hopeful that much will change.

He says that issues highlighted in last years’ ruling on Google’s shopping service haven’t been fixed, in part because the decision was too little, too late, and that he doesn’t expect this decision to have meaningful effect either.

“With any antitrust enforcement that goes to unilateral conduct, the remedy is not going to do much unless you fix the problem early,” he says. It’s already been more than two years since the EU first issued its objections against Google and it will likely appeal any decision that comes on Wednesday, drawing the process out further.

At this point, consumers in the EU may already be too entrenched in Google services to start using other apps even if Google’s options are not preinstalled. The situation is the same in the United States, where Google owns five of the top 10 most used apps in America. The biggest opportunity for could be in emerging markets like India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa, where many people are new to mobile. (There isn’t the same potential for following the EU’s lead in China, another huge emerging market, since Google’s services are currently blocked there anyway.)

Barry Lynn, director of the Open markets Institute and antitrust advocate, also has little hope that Google will end up making significant changes to its business in response to the EU’s decision, though he thinks it could possibly make the U.S. government take regulation more seriously. In the last year there has been an increased call for investigation of the tech monopolies, though there has been no action yet.

“I think that the immediate effects on Google will be pretty insubstantial,” he tells CNBC, “But that the larger expectations will be on our government to regulate these platforms.”

Google declined to comment on the impending EU decision.

Source: Tech CNBC
EU ruling may be too little, too late to stop Google's mobile dominance

Comments are closed.