South Korea bills Google a $32M fine for blocking rival's video games
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
South Korea's antitrust regulator slaps Alphabet's Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (GOOGL) a $31.88M fine for blocking the release of mobile video games on a competitor's platform.
Between June 2016 and April 2018, Google (GOOG) reportedly tried to block Korean platform rival One Store business by asking Koreaâs major game companies including NCSoft and Netmarble, as well as smaller firms and Chinese companies, to exclusively release their new games in Googleâs Play Store. In return Google (GOOG) would promote their games and providing further support abroad.
The activities hindered One Storeâs ability to attract new games and resulted in a drop in sales during the period, it said. Google earned around 1.8T won in sales through this activity, the FTC estimated.
Googleâs âactions differ from normal marketing activities. Googleâs intention was to exclude One Store from the market, which it saw as a strong competitor." said Yu Seong Wook, director general for the commissionâs Anti-Monopoly Bureau.
The Korean regulator has ordered Google LLC, Google Korea, Google Asia Pacific to cease offering support to mobile game companies in exchange for promises of exclusivity.
In 2021, Google was fined more than 200B won by the Korea Fair Trade Commission or KFTC for blocking customised versions of its Android operating system.
Recently, 'Google's search engine to feature chat AI - CEO Sundar Pichai'