Global Courant 2023-04-11 10:33:29
SEOUL – South Korea’s antitrust regulator has fined Alphabet’s Google 42.1 billion won ($42 million) for blocking the release of mobile video games on a competitor’s platform.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said on Tuesday that Google strengthened its market dominance and hurt the revenues and value of the local app market One Store as a platform by requiring video game makers to release their titles exclusively on Google Play in exchange for providing in-app exposure between June 2016 and April 2018.
Google said it will review the KFTC’s final decision to evaluate next action.
“Google invests substantially in developer success and we respectfully disagree with the KFTC’s conclusions,” a spokesperson said.
The KFTC said the move against the US tech giant is part of the government’s efforts to ensure fair markets.
Game makers affected by Google’s action include Netmarble, Nexon and NCSOFT, as well as other smaller companies, the antitrust regulator added.
In 2021, Google was fined more than 200 billion won by the KFTC for blocking modified versions of its Android operating system. REUTERS
