Will Google Have Anti-Trust Issues In The EU?

Today, I was thinking about the on-going Microsoft anti-trust issues in the European Union. The very same issues which led Microsoft to originally announce they would be selling a separate version of Windows 7 called Windows 7 E which would not have the Internet Explorer browser pre-installed (by default). However, that plan has changed according to a recent Microsoft blog post. It appears (as of now) Microsoft will be selling the exact version of Windows 7 in Europe now (the version that includes Internet Explorer). Nonetheless, this whole situation got me thinking about Google’s recent news about creating their own operating system called Chrome OS and whether or not Google will be subject to the same scrutiny by the EU with regards to their OS.

We all know how web centric of a company Google is – everything they do is on the web or is heavily involved in the web. While there is not very much information currently on Chrome OS I think it is rather safe to assume that the Google Chrome browser will be a very intricate part of the operating system. After all, it is named after the browser. My main question here is the following: Will the EU go after Google if indeed they bundle the Chrome browser within the Chrome OS? It would seem to be a double standard against Microsoft if they didn’t.

I realize at this current time Microsoft is planning on continuing to bundle IE in Windows 7, but, assuming that changes and they are no longer allowed to – will Google face the same anti-trust allegations? I think it’s also important to consider how intertwined Google Chrome (the browser) will be in the Chrome OS. I mean, do you remember back in the days when you needed Internet Explorer to run Windows Updates? Yeah.

Granted the OS will be open source and freely modifiable (which may end up being their legal argument if it comes to this) I can guarantee the majority of end users who may end up using it will not be modifying it. As of right now though, this all remains to be seen. I know we all like to think of Google under their internal motto of “Do no evil”, but, let’s be frank here. They are a company whose objective is to make a profit – just like every other company out there (non-profit companies not included).

wanyal

We're forgetting Apple. Why is it that Microsoft isn't allowed to ship an OS with their own web browser and media player, when Apple is allowed to ship OSX with their own media player, web browser, email client, movie editor, photo manager, etc. etc.?

http://www.besttechie.net besttechie

Good points. I think a lot of it has to do with market share.

wanyal

Personally, I think that's rubbish. Restricting competition is restricting competition, regardless of market share.

http://www.besttechie.net besttechie

Not saying I disagree. I'm not in favor of any company here, my post was simply posing the question of whether or not you think it would happen or not.

condoulo

Looks like somebody beat me to it – but it seems as if nobody is attacking Apple on this, why would they attack the Google Chrome OS? The fact Microsoft got attacked by Opera is simply because they have the largest chunk of the market share.
I think Microsoft did get attacked unfairly, and governments should have no right to control what is put into an OS. Especially in terms of offering competitors products. Mozilla has done well just in the past 5 years in terms of spreading market-share by word of mouth – so why should Opera come in and just help Mozilla even more? I think this is only gonna speed-up Mozilla Firefox's adoption, and Opera isn't going to gain a thing.