The European Commission on Wednesday fined Google $5 billion over charges that prepackaging apps on its Android operating system for phones and other devices had stifled competition. Google denies the claim and plans to appeal, but the fine may have larger implications for the tech industry beyond Google. The move is the latest example of the European Union taking action to rein in a sector that has been largely free of regulations in the U.S. and elsewhere, analysts tell Marketplace. As a result, tech companies may use the strict European rules as the default for everywhere else they operate in order to avoid the cost of creating separate products for separate markets.

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