South Korea: Antitrust regulators get tough on Google

The nation’s media watchdogs plan to revise a law that will allow Android users to delete Google’s “non-removable” preinstalled apps.

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) and the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) voiced a consensus that legal measures were necessary to stop customers from falling victim to such monopolistic schemes.

“The KCC is in talks with the MSIP over completing the revision no later than July,” said an official. “There are guidelines for the same issue, but they have been under no legal compulsion. Some business operators have not followed the guidelines, hurting users’ rights.”

The MSIP previously issued the guideline to make non-essential apps that come bundled with the phone removable. The number of preinstalled apps has been scaled back over the past two years since the measure took effect in January 2014, according to the MSIP. But the regulator said this has failed to “completely root out” the so-called “bloatware.” Most such apps have become user-removable due to the guidelines, but still some 10 Google apps remain uninstallable.

The KCC official added the EU’s recent decision over Google is another major reason for the law revision.

Full Content: Korea Times

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.