Google faces new criticism

By Kim Tae-gyu

Domestic search engines claim they have secured a ``smoking gun’’ to prove global business leader Google has violated Korea’s anti-trust regulations with regard to smartphone applications.

Daum Communications, the country’s second-largest Web search firm, said Monday that it has decisive proof showing Google has falsely taken advantage of its dominant status to rule the smartphone search market.

The Seoul-based outfit filed a complaint this month with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) stating that Google has forced smartphone producers and mobile carriers to preload its search engine in handsets using the Android operating system, the brainchild of Google.

``Our employees attempted to preload Daum search engines in a smartphone model and contacted developers of a local cell phone maker,’’ said an insider at Daum, who asked not to be named.

``Our trial eventually fell apart due to, in the words of the handset maker’s worker’s email, the opposition of Google. Thanks to the evidence, we think that we have a good shot at winning the case against Google.’’

The insider added that the email contents have already been given to the FTC in the legal action, which Daum brought together with NHN, the operator of the No. 1 porter Naver.

The insider was tight-lipped about the identity of the Korean cellular phone vendor in question. But rumors say it is Samsung Electronics, the world’s runner-up player in the business.

NHN said it wanted to ``bring the dark side of Google to the light.’’ The Bundang, Gyeonggi Province-based entity cried foul at the fact that a vast majority of Android-powered phones preload Google’s search engine here.

Out of 10 million-plus smartphones in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, some two thirds are operated on Android.

``Google’s market share in PC-based search services is a mere 2 percent here. But it carves out about a fifth of the market as far as mobile search applications are concerned. Don’t you see anything strange in that?’’ an NHN official said.

``As a developer of Android, Google can flex muscles to preload its search engines in virtually all smartphones in Korea. What we contend is that any maneuvers aimed at stifling competition should be addressed.’’

He claimed that there is just one smartphone in Korea ― LG Electronics’ Optimus ― where users can shift their default search engines from Google to those of Naver and Daum.

And it would be a tall task because people have to go through up to eight processes to do so, according to NHN.

``In other countries, Google has waded into mobile while overwhelming the Internet. Hence, few take issue with the practices of Google. People simply get used to Google,’’ the NHN official said.

``Things are very different in Korea as Google is just a minnow here. Only Koreans will be able to take the wraps off the bad practices of Google. We are determined to get to the bottom of the case.’’

Google Korea was not available for comments but the outfit negated the allegations on its irregularities when NHN and Daum asked the FTC investigations on it.

``Android is an open source, open to anybody, and both carriers and partners are free to decide which applications and services to include on their Android devices,’’ a Google Korea official said recently.