Google filed its defense Thursday against the EU’s charges targeting Android. Thomas Vinje, an antitrust lawyer who advises FairSearch, calls Google’s description of Android as an open-source operating system “disingenuous … a phone maker that offers even a few phones that do not comply with Google’s straightjacket faces a cut-off from all of Google’s branded products.”
Google rejected European antitrust charges that it used its dominance over online search to promote its own product comparison website at the expense of rival. FairSearch responds.
Last month Africa Media Online conducted a survey to gain an understanding of how picture buyers and picture researchers are using Google to find images. 52 people responded to the short list of questions. 29 respondents were from South Africa, 8 from the UK, 7 from the USA, 2 from Germany, 1 from New Zealand and 1 from Denmark and 3 unknown.
Getty Images campaigns against anti-competitive scraping of their imagery and launches petition asking photographers to lens their voice to their action.
The Commission has sent two Statements of Objections to Google. The Commission has reinforced, in a supplementary Statement of Objections, its preliminary conclusion that Google has abused its dominant position by systematically favouring its comparison shopping service in its search result pages.
The most important news of last week is undoubtedly Getty Images’s announcement that it had filed an own anti-trust complaint at the European Commission against Google Images.
Complaint, in support of the European Commission’s investigation into Google, aims to address Google’s anti-competitive practices and use of scraped third party imagery through Google Images that diminishes a fair marketplace for content creators.
The European Commission has informed Google of its preliminary view that the company has, in breach of EU antitrust rules, abused its dominant position by imposing restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators.
One step forward towards a better protection of image providers online.
On 27 August, Google has sent a response to the SO (Statement of Objections) issued in April this year.
