In Europe, antitrust regulators have received a formal complaint about Google’s Android operating system for mobile devices. Fairsearch Europe, a group of Google’s competitors, filed the complaint against the Android operating system for mobile saying that it was a deceptive way for Google to gain advantages for its main Google apps. Nearly 70 percent of smartphones shipped last year run Google’s Android software.
Joaquín Almunia, the European Union’s antitrust chief, did not comment on the new complaint, but said it will be handled separately from the current inquiry about Google’s Internet search abuse. He stated that he was receiving proposals from Google that would address the promotions of its own services over its competitors in that case. Al Verney, Google spokesperson, simply stated that the company would continue to work cooperatively with the commission.
In November 2010, the European Commission opened an antitrust inquiry into Google’s search practices. The inquiry seeks to find out if the company took advantage of its market dominance and to discover whether Google manipulated search results from other sites. Regulators and Google have discussed changes; however, Mr. Almunia requested the offer made to the commission to include clear choices between the company and its competitors on mobile and desktop searches. “I don’t know if you should call it labeling, or whatever, but they need to distinguish,” Mr. Almunia said. At this time, no changes to Google’s algorithm have been requested.
Google’s presence grows especially strong in Europe, with more than 90 percent of the search market attributed to the company. Because of Google’s market domination, Mr. Almunia expressed concern with the possibility of abuse, but said the commission would not need to find a final answer if Google reached a settlement. The commission has taken a tougher stance with Google than the Federal Trade Commission did after their 19-month inquiry of antitrust violations, which left Google clear of any violations.
