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European Union antitrust regulators said that by requiring
mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the
Google Chrome browser, the U.S. company was denying consumers a
wider choice of mobile apps and stifling innovation.
Google is already facing EU charges over the promotion of its
shopping service in Internet searches at the expense of rival
services, in a case that has dragged on since late 2010 despite
three attempts to resolve the issues.
The stakes are higher for Google in the Android case as it made
about $11 billion last year from advertising sales on Android
phones through its apps such as Maps, Search and Gmail,
according to estimates by financial analyst Richard Windsor.
"A competitive mobile Internet sector is increasingly important
for consumers and businesses in Europe," European Competition
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
"We believe that Google's behavior denies consumers a wider
choice of mobile apps and services and stands in the way of
innovation by other players," she said.
Internet Explorer-browser maker Microsoft Corp declined to
comment.
Suppliers of browsers including Mozilla, which is behind Firefox,
as well as Apple, with its Safari browser, and Norway's Opera
Software were not immediately available to comment.
The European Commission said about 80 percent of smart mobile
devices in Europe and the world run on Android, the operating
system developed by Google.
Google, which has 12 weeks to respond to the charges, said in a
statement that Android was a remarkable system based on
open-source software and open innovation.
"We look forward to working with the European Commission to
demonstrate that Android is good for competition and good for
consumers," Google's general counsel Kent Walker said.
FairSearch, the lead complainant, said Google had launched
Android as an open source project, but was now hindering the
development of versions that might lead to new operating systems
able to compete with Android.
The Commission alleges Google has breached EU antitrust rules by
making phone manufacturers pre-install its search function and
Chrome browser, and by preventing them from selling mobiles
running competing operating systems based on the Android open
source code.
The EU also charged the U.S company with giving financial
incentives to manufacturers and network operators to pre-install
Google Search exclusively on devices.
(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard; writing by Philip
Blenkinsop; editing by David Clarke)
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