Google asks Android users which browser and search apps they want to use

By admin On Mar 20, 2019

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Google will ask owners of Android smartphones which apps they want to use for browsing and as a search engine. With this, Google complies with an earlier demand from the European Commission, which imposed a hefty fine last year for abuse of Android power.

Kent Walker, a vice president of global affairs at Google, writes in a blog post that his company will “do more to ensure Android smartphone owners are aware of the wide choice of browsers and search engines available for download for their phones.” In concrete terms, this means that Google will ask users of existing and new Android devices in Europe which browser and search apps they want to use. This will be implemented sometime in the coming months. Walker says this demonstrates Google’s continued commitment to operating in an open manner.

This step may mean that Google has at least partially complied with the decision of the European Commission in July 2018. At that time, the EU competition regulator fined €4.3 billion because, according to the Commission, Google abused its dominant position. at Android. The Commission also mentioned the violation that Google requires its Search app and the Chrome browser to be pre-installed on Android devices. The Commission found that to restrict competition, because users are more likely to continue using these apps.

Based on this, Google has now announced that it is making adjustments to Android, in the form of adjusting the licensing model for Google apps for Android devices. This means that there will be separate licenses for Google Play, the Chrome browser and for Google Search. With this, Google says it wants to comply with the objections of the Commission. Smartphone makers must thus ‘retain’ the freedom to install an alternative app in addition to a Google app, Walker reports.

It is unclear whether Google is thereby giving up its previous opposition to the fine of 4.3 billion euros. In October last year, the company decided to appeal against this competition fine from the European Commission.

Kent Walker, who dedicates his blog post entirely to allegations made to the European Commission in the area of competition concerns, also refers to changes his company allegedly made in recent years to, among others, Google Shopping. He also points out recently implemented changes to Google Shopping. The Commission previously imposed a fine of 2.4 billion euros, because Google biased its price comparator Google Shopping. Walker says Google has listened carefully to feedback from the Commission and others and will continue to update its products in Europe in the coming months.

Walker also says that Google has made changes to AdSense based on objections from the European Commission. However, he does not provide any further explanation about the changes made to this service for search advertisements. This may be related to the investigation into AdSense that the European Commission started in 2016. In this context, it is expected that a new fine will be imposed on Google this week, which is specifically aimed at the anticompetitive effect of AdSense. The Commission previously stated that it believes that Google has imposed restrictive conditions in agreements with a number of large parties that display AdSense advertisements to keep competitors out.