A FEW MONTHS after Google proposed a list of remedies to help settle Europe’s antitrust case focusing on its search engine business, the European Commission (EC) could soon be filing another case against the company, this time looking at its mobile software Android.
The EC is currently laying down the groundwork for a case looking at whether Google abuses the dominant market share Android has on the smartphone market to promote services like search and maps, according to Reuters.
It has sent out questionnaires to companies, asking whether there was a requirement set by Google for them not to pre-install apps, products or services that compete with Google’s own services.
While any company is free to use Android as they wish, as it’s an open-source platform, mobile handset makers that want to use the platform must sign a contract that requires a minimum number of Google services be pre-installed on devices, according to a former Google executive speaking to Reuters.
It’s expected that a formal probe will begin once the EC wraps up its investigation into whether Google ranks its own services higher than those of its rivals.
The news comes shortly after new findings from Strategy Analytics found that 85% of global phone shipments in the second quarter were powered by Android. It also found that overall smartphone shipments grew to 295 million units during the last quarter, a 27% increase compared to the same period last year.
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