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Google has been fined by the European Union because of the way that Android is basically set up.
The problem is that all of these manufacturers like LG, Samsung, all these people Have agreements with Google to include Google software whenever they're installing Android on a device.
There are more than 24,000 devices that are running Android, and the EU says that that allows unfair competition, particularly in search.
Google has said they plan to appeal.
It's likely that this is gonna turn into quite a tussle, because, at the end of the day, this is about Google's business model.
The idea that Android is free is fundamental to the way that all of these phones out there are being powered.
And if Google is forced to change the way that it does things remove the software then how they pay for Android changes and it may turn into quite a problem.
Right now this whole thing isn't going to affect anybody, it's a philosophical debate right?
There's obviously money involved, the EU is starting to bare down on Google But the effects are unclear at the moment.
But the possibility is that the way that Android works may very well change.
If this rule actually gets cemented and the appeal doesn't win, then questions arise around how Google's gonna pay for Android going forward.
The United States government has pretty much taken a pass with the tech industry until recently.
For decades it was really this honeymoon period where, for the most part, it was hands-off and then the election meddling started.
There was concerns about Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, all these other things that popped up.
And so now the government is starting to show some interest in regulating or possibly even doing more with the tech industry, but it's still very far away from them actually doing anything.
Right now they're just kind of saber rattling.
It's very clear that governments around the world are starting to take a serious look at how the tech industry works.
And this hands off approach, that, particularly in the United States, but around the world really, is just coming to an end.
And now these companies are going to have to deal with the implications of being treated like the large companies that they are.
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