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 The lawsuit alleges that Google has expanded its monopoly of the
internet search market by pre-loading its applications onto Android
mobile devices through its Mobile Application Distribution
Agreements.
According to the lawsuit, Google's role in placing this suite of
apps, including Google Play and YouTube, has hampered the market and
kept the price of devices made by competing manufactures like
Samsung Electronics and HTC Corp artificially high.
Google said Android and Google can be used independent of each
other.
"Anyone can use Android without Google and anyone can use Google
without Android. Since Android's introduction, greater competition
in smartphones has given consumers more choices at lower prices,"
Matt Kallman, a Google spokesman, told Reuters.
Steve Berman, the attorney representing consumers, alleged that
Google had not achieved its monopoly by offering a better search
engine, but through anti-competitive placement and market
manipulation.
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The case is in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
California, 5:14-cv-02007-HRL.
(Reporting by Arnab Sen in Bangalore; editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
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