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Google “bought off Samsung” to limit app store competition, 36 states allege

Google “bought off Samsung” to limit app store competition, 36 states allege

Enlarge (credit: Andri Koolme / Flickr )

Yesterday, dozens of state attorneys general sued Google on antitrust grounds, alleging that the company worked to “preemptively quash” competing app stores (most notably the Samsung Galaxy Store) and maintain its monopoly on Android app distribution.

The lawsuit alleges that Google engaged in a range of anticompetitive practices, including offering large app developers profit-sharing agreements in exchange for exclusivity, creating unnecessary hurdles for sideloading, and attempting “to buy off Samsung to limit competition from the Samsung Galaxy app store. ”

Google says the particular lawsuit is “meritless. ” “It’s strange that a group of state attorneys general chose in order to file a lawsuit attacking a system that provides more openness plus choice than others, ” Wilson White, Google’s senior director associated with public policy, wrote in a blog post .

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