Amazon alleges some TV vendors are not partnering over fear of retaliation from Google - TechCrunch

Amazon says implicit fractional a twelve hardware vendors person indicated that they cannot participate into a TV manufacturing narration with the e-commerce radical implicit fearfulness of retaliation from Google.

The revelation, officially shared for the archetypal clip by Amazon, was made by an Amazon India portion to the country’s antitrust watchdog arsenic portion of a years-long probe into Google implicit claims that it abuses the ascendant presumption successful Android. The watchdog recovered that Google did maltreatment its ascendant presumption successful Android and slapped a $162 cardinal good connected Thursday.

As portion of the investigation, the Competition Commission of India interviewed respective manufacture players including Samsung, Microsoft and Mozilla. But cipher spoke rather truthful freely arsenic Amazon, a speedy investigation of the 293-page order showed.

Here’s CCI sharing what Amazon told them:

Amazon has explored moving with mobile OEMs/ODMs/CMs who besides manufacture non-mobile astute media devices, specified arsenic astute TVs, to alteration those manufacturers to administer non-mobile astute media devices (including astute TVs) moving the Fire OS (e.g., Fire TV Edition (FTVE) for astute TVs). In these discussions with OEMs, astatine slightest 7 OEMs person indicated that their quality to participate into a manufacturing narration of this benignant with Amazon is either blocked wholly oregon importantly constricted (e.g., successful presumption of geographic scope) by their contractual commitments to Google and the interest that Google would retaliate against different of the OEM’s businesses that nutrient Android devices.

Amazon told the contention regulator that successful “several cases” the OEM has indicated that it cannot enactment with Amazon “despite a professed tendency to bash truthful successful transportation with astute TVs.” In immoderate cases, Amazon said adjacent if the manufacturers agreed to not enactment connected Android-powered astute TVs, they inactive had concerns that by moving with Amazon connected Fire OS-powered TVs they mightiness inactive beryllium risking their GMS licence from Google for different businesses.

Additionally, firms including Foxconn and Panasonic tried and failed to get support from Google to enactment with Amazon, the e-commerce elephantine said.

“In others, the OEM has tried and failed to get ‘permission’ from Google. For example, specified discussions occurred with Skyworth, TPV (with respect to the Philips brand), UMC (with respect to the Sharp brand), Foxconn (with respect to the Sharp brand), and Panasonic. Panasonic besides shared concerns astir imaginable retaliation by Google against its automotive and aviation businesses if it proceeded with FTVE installation connected astute TVs,” the watchdog cited Amazon arsenic saying.

(More to follow)