By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 12/06/2026For years, Google thrived on the open web, and built open technologies. Android - the mobile operating system that Google bought in 2005 - was presented as an "open" alternative to existing mobile offerings. 18/ 191
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 12/06/2026As the mobile market collapsed into two companies - Google and Apple - Google always presented Android as the open alternative to Apple's "walled garden." 19/ 180
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 12/06/2026There were always ways in which Google's "open" Android wasn't *exactly* open. The company engaged in illegal "tying" arrangements that forced hardware vendors and carriers to lock out versions of Android that were created by Google's competitors: ec.europa.eu/commission/p... 20/ec.europa.euAntitrust: Commission fines Google €4.34 billion for illegal practices regarding Android mobile devices to strengthen dominance of Google\'s search engineThe European Commission has fined Google €4.34 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules. Since 2011, Google has imposed illegal restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operator... 1113
