Google's Android is by far the world's most popular operating system, but apparently not everyone is happy about that. And it's not just Apple who's displeased.
The Chinese government is currently circulating a white paper that voices concern over Android's dominance in the country's mobile marketplace.
According to the white paper, authorities from the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology are concerned that Android's control of the smartphone market is restricting the ability of Chinese companies to compete adequately. It also claimed that Google discriminates against Chinese companies by lagging when it comes to sharing code, and by using commercial agreements to keep Chinese companies from offering competition devices.
Back in 2012, Alibaba Group claimed that Google pressured it and Acer into cancelling the launch of jointly-developed smartphones.
"Our country's mobile operating system research and development is too dependent on Android," read the paper, according to Reuters. "While the Android system is open source, the core technology and technology roadmap is strictly controlled by Google."
China didn't mention any specific actions it would take against Google, but some analysts see the white paper as a sign that the country will pursue regulations in the future.
"In China, regulators regulate regularly especially where they can position the regulations as helping out domestic companies," Duncan Clark, chairman of technology consultancy BDA, said in an email to Reuters.
Interestingly, though, the ubiquity of Google's Android has made it possible for China's biggest smartphone manufacturers to grow. Companies like Huawei and ZTE both make popular Android-based devices that have helped China become the largest smartphone market in the world in just a few years.
"Ironically, Android's success has underpinned a lot of the growth in China smartphone vendors in recent years," said Clark.
Regardless, Google probably doesn't want to get too aggressive in stifling competition, because China can similarly make things difficult. The two have already been involved in public disputes over the Google search engine, with Google claiming that China censored its search results and hacked into its network. Its search engine market share has dropped by 50 percent since.
Considering Android made up 90 percent of all operating systems during the third quarter of 2012, it probably doesn't want that to happen again.
(Edited by Lois Heyman)
