Google expects European investigation into Android

Google expects the European Commission to start an investigation against Android. The company reports this in an internal memo. The EU is also likely to formally accuse the search giant of abuse of power with its search engine on Wednesday.

Google mentions the investigation into Android in an internal memo that was sent to employees and has Re/code. In the memo, Google responds to the expectation that the European Commission will formally accuse the search giant on Wednesday of abuse of power with its search engine.

Although it is a formal accusation in the case of the search engine, the case to Android is not that advanced yet. According to Google, this is an investigation, which does not mean that steps will actually be taken; the company notes that the European Commission has also conducted an investigation into iTunes in the past, without further action.

The search giant does not say what the investigation would focus on, but it is probably an abuse of its dominant market position. Android is by far the market leader in the mobile operating system market, and the company ships its own apps along with the platform. In September, the now resigned European Commissioner for Competition Joaquín Almúnia already threatened with a competition case about Android.

In the memo, Google puts into perspective the formal accusation that the European Commission will probably make against Google on Wednesday, which could lead to huge competition fines. The company notes that it can still reach a settlement. The question is how big that chance is; the investigation into Google’s search engine has been going on for five years and in that time three settlement proposals have been rejected.

The European Commission accuses Google of, among other things, favoring its own services in its search engine. In recent years, the company has taken steps to address those criticisms, such as clearer listing of competing services. However, those concessions were deemed insufficient.