The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the regulatory body overseeing competition in the Chinese government, has announced an investigation into Google, citing violations of China’s antitrust laws. While the information on SAMR’s website is scarce, details regarding how Google has breached China’s antitrust laws remain undisclosed. It’s worth noting that Google has largely withdrawn from business operations in China since 2010, with only some remaining ventures in advertising and cloud services.
The probe into Google for antitrust violations comes amidst the Chinese government’s response to Donald Trump’s administration imposing a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, prompting China to retaliate with a 10-15% tariff increase. Western media speculates that investigating Google could be seen as a retaliatory measure against the United States.
Source: SAMR, Guardian, AP
TLDR: SAMR investigates Google for antitrust violations amid tensions with the US over trade tariffs.
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