Swiss Regulator Opens Probe Into Google’s Android Search Choice Screen
COMCO said Google’s removal of the Android choice screen gives its search engine default placement for Swiss users and may limit competition.
- On Tuesday, Switzerland's Competition Commission launched a preliminary investigation into Google's removal of the 'Choice Screen' feature on Android devices, which previously allowed users to select their default search engine.
- Google removed the feature in Switzerland while maintaining it elsewhere in Europe, forcing its own search engine as the default option for Swiss users.
- Holding an 82% share of the Swiss search market according to Statcounter, Google dominates locally; COMCO stated that default settings play a decisive role in digital markets, limiting visibility of competing search engines.
- This practice creates 'unequal treatment between Swiss users and those in the European Economic Area,' COMCO added, noting it could affect the ability of search engine providers to compete.
- The investigation will determine whether Google's actions violate the Swiss Cartel Act, while a Google spokesperson said the company is aware and 'we look forward to cooperating fully with the authority to address their questions.
36 Articles
36 Articles
The Swiss Competition Commission initiated a preliminary investigation into Google's removal of a feature that allows mobile phone users to choose not to use their search mechanism as a default, informed the authority on Tuesday (14). The 'Choose Screen' feature allows users to choose their default search mechanisms during the initial configuration of their new Android device. The regulatory authority stated that Google removed this feature in S…
The US giant no longer allows Swiss users of its operating system to choose a default search engine when setting up their device. A decision that could violate Swiss competition lawThe Secretariat of the Competition Commission (Comco) announced this Tuesday, July 14, the opening of a preliminary investigation against the US giant Google in order to determine whether its Android mobile operating system is in contravention of the cartel law. In th…
Swiss probe Google dropping search choice on Android phones
The feature allowed users to choose their default search engine during the initial set-up of a new Android device. "Recently, Google removed this feature in Switzerland," the Secretariat of the Competition Commission (COMCO) said in a statement. "As a result, the Google search engine is imposed as the default on Swiss users, without a 'choice screen' being displayed during the initial set-up." COMCO said its removal could limit the visibility of…
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