South Korea's competition regulator has accused Alphabet of using its dominance in Android app distribution to limit competition, affecting about 14.16 trillion won, or roughly $9.1 billion, in revenue. The Korea Fair Trade Commission said Google's Games/Google Velocity Program, internally known as Project Hug, provided financial support to game developers in exchange for launching games on Google Play under terms at least as favorable as rival app stores. The watchdog argues that the arrangement encouraged developers to prioritize Google Play while making it harder for competing platforms, including South Korea's OneStore, to compete effectively. If the allegations are upheld, Google could face a fine of as much as 6% of that revenue amount under South Korean competition law. Google did not immediately comment on the allegations.
Alphabet Inc Class CSouth Korea's antitrust regulator accused Google of using its dominance in Android app distribution to limit competition, potentially leading to a fine of up to 6% of $9.1 billion in revenue.