EC accelerates Google Android antitrust probe
EC accelerates Google Android antitrust probe
Complaining businesses have 24 hours to respond, kinda like Jack Bauer
AN ANTITRUST PROBE by the European Commission (EC) looking into whether Google abused its dominance in Europe is being stepped up as regulators prepare to send formal complaints.
A report in the Financial Times said that the EC had sent requests for information from those complaining against Google's Android activity in Europe, giving them 24 hours to respond.
The flurry of activity indicates that the EC is done messing around and wants to see action taken to formalise the charges levelled at Google.
The probe started on 15 April last year to determine whether Google was abusing its dominant position in the mobile operating system market by pre-installing its own services and apps in Android smartphones.
Android has come a long way in terms of functionality over the past few years, particularly with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, but some companies are not happy about Google apps being pre-installed on mobile devices.
A person close to the EC reportedly said that EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager could present a statement of objections, essentially a formal charge sheet, to Google as early as next Wednesday.
We don't feel sorry for Google coming under fire from plucky European businesses, but the search company must be pretty fed up with all the antitrust activity it faces in the region.
Google has already been embroiled in a five-year European antitrust case over accusations of abusing its dominance in the search market, and was slapped with another Android antitrust complaint last year over the banning of an anti-malware app.
And things aren't exactly smooth for Google in other parts of the world when it comes to anti-competition probes. The company recently lost an Android antitrust case in Russia, and faced a similar investigation in the US last year.
It might be worth reminding Google's lawyers that it never rains but it pours.
Source: inq
