Google is being probed in Switzerland by regulators over how it’s handling the default search option on Android devices. This is an issue Google has faced before, and is likely to lead Google down a path of anti-competitive regulatory troubles. When you’re a company the size of Google, though, these sorts of issues seemingly pop up a lot more often.
In a new report, Swiss regulators are probing Google over its decision to remove the option during the setup of Android devices to alter the default Search option. According to the report, this change was made to devices in Switzerland, but the default can still be switched from Google Search to an alternative in other European countries, which is why the company is being probed.
The default search option can still be changed, but it must be done after setup and by going through quite a few more screens and steps. By comparison it’s a much more convoluted process. And Swiss regulators believe this will make it much more difficult for alternative search engines to compete, as they won’t be visible to users right away. Which could lead to those users believing that Google is the only option.
Google is only being probed in Switzerland right now over Search
At the moment Google is only being probed over its changes to the Search choice on Android devices, which means that it isn’t currently facing any legal ramifications from these changes. The Switzerland Competition Commission is investigating the company’s decisions and the investigation will help it determine whether or not Google violated any laws under the Swiss Cartel Act.
So as of right now, Google won’t have to go to court over these changes. However, that may be in Google’s future if COMCO decides Google’s changes were unlawful competition. As mentioned, this isn’t the first time Google has faced scrutiny over its own Search as a default. One such example came to light in 2023 when it was discovered that Google had paid Apple to allow Google Search to be the default on Apple devices. It also paid Mozilla a large sum annually to be the default search engine on Firefox.
The post Google is making it harder for Swiss users to choose a default search appeared first on Android Headlines.
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