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Google Mobile Services (GMS) is a collection ofproprietary applications and application programming interfaces (APIs) services fromGoogle that are typically pre-installed on the majority ofAndroid devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. GMS is not a part of theAndroid Open Source Project (AOSP), which means an Android manufacturer needs to obtain a license from Google in order to legally pre-install GMS on an Android device. This license is provided by Google without any licensing fees except in the EU.[1][2][3][4]
The following are core applications that are part of Google Mobile Services:[5]
Numerous European firms filed a complaint to theEuropean Commission stating that Google had manipulated their power and dominance within the market to push their Services to be used by phone manufacturers.[6] The firms were joined under the nameFairSearch, and the main firms included wereMicrosoft,Expedia,TripAdvisor,Nokia andOracle.[6] FairSearch's major problem with Google's practices was that they believed Google were forcing phone manufacturers to use their Mobile Services. They claimed Google managed this by asking these manufacturers to sign a contract stating that they must preinstall specific Google Mobile Services, such as Maps, Search and YouTube, in order to get the latest version of Android.[7] Google swiftly responded stating that they "continue to work co-operatively with the European Commission".[8]
Thethird-party Android app storeAptoide also filed an EU competition complaint against Google once again stating that they are misusing their power within the market.[9] Aptoide alleged that Google was blocking third-party app stores from being on Google Play, as well as blocking Google Chrome from downloading any third-party apps and app stores. As of June 2014, Google had not responded to these allegations.[9]
In May 2019,Umar Javeed, Sukarma Thapar, Aaqib Javeed vs. Google LLC & Ors. theCompetition Commission of India ordered an antitrust probe against Google for abusing its dominant position with Android to block market rivals. In Prima Facie opinion the commission held, Mandatory Pre-installation of entire Google Mobile Services (GMS) suite under Mobile application distribution agreements MADA amounts to imposition of unfair condition on the device manufacturers.[10]
On July 18, 2018, the European Commission fined Google €4.34 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules which resulted in a change of licensing policy for the GMS in the EU. A new paid licensing agreement for smartphones and tablets shipped into the EEA was created.[11]The change is that the GMS is now decoupled from the base Android and will be offered under a separate paid licensing agreement.[4]
At the same time, Google faced problems with various Europeandata protection agencies, most notably In theUnited Kingdom andFrance. The problem they faced was that they had a set of 60 rules merged into one, which allowed Google to "track users more closely".[8] Google once again came out and stated that their new policies still abide byEuropean Union laws.[8]
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