Seoul’s antitrust watchdog has initiated an inquiry into Google, along with its Singaporean and South Korean offices, for allegedly breaching fair trade regulations concerning game developers on its app store. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) disclosed that Google’s actions in the Android marketplace, resulting in sales of $9.21 billion, have been deemed as monopolistic. The FTC has the authority to levy fines up to 6% of this amount after due consideration.
The FTC revealed that Google had entered into Games Velocity Program (GVP) agreements with major game developers globally to retain them on its platform, as reported by Yonhap news agency. These agreements involved subsidizing developers’ expenses for utilizing Google services like Google Cloud and advertising, on the condition that they prioritize Google over other app stores, even offering early release privileges. The FTC’s examiners found that these agreements obstructed developers from exploring alternative app markets, disrupting fair competition.
The FTC’s examiners further concluded that the GVP agreements compelled game developers to exclusively collaborate with Google, limiting their freedom to work with other platforms. Google has been given an eight-week window to present its responses to the examiners’ findings. In a separate development, the FTC recently approved voluntary corrective actions amounting to 3 billion won ($1.94 million) proposed by Coupang Corp. and its affiliate, addressing issues of unfair practices with subcontractors.
