Android may be the top operating system on U.S. smartphones, but Google’s competitors say the tech giant is capturing the market using anti-competitive tactics.
The Federal Trade Commission is in the very early stages of an investigation into the allegations, according to a Reuters article. The agency is looking into complaints that Google’s requirements that its search, maps, and other products are displayed prominently on smartphones constitutes “bundling,” an illegal practice under antitrust laws. Competitors say that the practice makes is harder for users to choose their similar applications.
One trade group representing the tech sector, Fairsearch, welcomed the FTC probe, stating that Google has used several anticompetitive tactics.
Google previously settled an FTC antitrust case around its online advertising practices that favored the company’s offerings over competitors. Documents from that case show that some FTC commissioners had argued that Google was in violation of the law, but the agency chose to settle the case when Google agreed to drop some of its more egregious practices.
Competitors are hoping for a tougher response from the agency this time, but according to one analyst, the FTC investigation and any potential litigation could take years to resolve.
The European Union has also accused Google of similar violations and is currently looking into the company’s tactics around the Android system.