Google wins lawsuit that claimed it coerced manufacturers to offer its apps

Google has reportedly won a lawsuit that claimed it abused its market power by forcing device makers that used its Android platform to provide the search engine company's applications.

Google was accused of forcing manufacturers to make its search engine the default option on devices powered by Android and coercing smartphone makers like, Samsung, to offer less popular Android applications in order to pre-load, for free, favourites such as YouTube, reported Stuff.co.nz.

U.S. District Judge Beth L Freeman in San Jose, California, said that the consumers failed to identify the damage that the antitrust laws they sued under were designed to address. The judge gave the consumers' lawyers three weeks to amend some of their claims and refile the case.

The tech giant is facing similar charges in Europe, where it is under mounting pressure to address competition and privacy issues. European Union lawmakers in November suggested regulators to split the company if they cannot settle a four-year-old antitrust probe.