Regulator to take action against Google over allegations of YouTube content bundling

A silhouette of a mobile phone user is seen next to a screen with the YouTube logo in this illustration taken March 28, 2018. Reuters-Yonhap

South Korea’s antitrust regulator is expected to take criminal action against Google over allegations that the company unfairly bundled YouTube’s music service with its premium subscription program, officials said on Monday.

The US tech giant has been accused of offering its ad-free YouTube Music streaming service to YouTube Premium users at no extra charge, in violation of the Fair Trading Act. The matter has been under investigation by the FTC since February last year.

After several months of investigation, the FTC recently released its review report, which calls for punitive measures against Google, to be followed by a decision at a planned plenary hearing.

Officials said the investigation focused on determining whether Google abused its dominant market position by implementing such a practice and whether it restricted fair competition in the industry.

Some have noted that bundling helped grow YouTube’s subscriber base, but in the long run it limited consumer choice and unfairly disadvantaged other music streaming services.

“We are working to complete the investigation and other necessary procedures in July and make a final decision within weeks,” an FTC official said. (Yonhap)