Switzerland’s competition watchdog has opened a preliminary investigation into Google’s decision to remove the Android “Choice Screen” feature in the country.
The regulator said on July 14 that the removal could make it harder for rival search engines to compete and reinforce Google’s dominance in online search.
The Secretariat of the Swiss Competition Commission (COMCO) said it was examining whether Google’s decision to stop displaying the “Choice Screen” during the setup of new Android devices in Switzerland could amount to an unlawful restriction of competition under the country’s Cartel Act.
The investigation will determine whether there are sufficient indications to launch formal antitrust proceedings.
The “Choice Screen” feature allows users setting up a new Android phone or tablet to choose their preferred default search engine instead of automatically using Google Search.
While the option remains available in countries covered by the European Economic Area (EEA), Google recently removed it for users in Switzerland, making Google Search the default option during device setup, COMCO said.
Google has a dominant position in Switzerland’s search market, accounting for about 82 percent of searches, according to web analytics firm Statcounter. Microsoft’s Bing held about 10.1 percent, followed by Yahoo with 2.2 percent and Yandex with 1.7 percent.
COMCO said default settings play a decisive role in digital markets because many consumers rarely change pre-installed options after setting up a device.
“The ‘Choice Screen’ aims to reduce the lock-in effects associated with preconfigured settings,” the regulator said.
It added that removing the feature “could limit the visibility of search engines competing with Google when users set up their devices, thereby reinforcing barriers to entry.”
Different Rules
Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, although it maintains close economic ties with the bloc. Because the country is outside the EU and the EEA, Google’s conduct there is governed by Swiss competition law rather than the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).The European Commission designated Google as a “gatekeeper” under the Digital Markets Act on Sept. 6, 2023, requiring the company to comply with new rules designed to make digital markets more competitive.
To meet those obligations, Google introduced a search choice screen during Android device setup in the EEA. The company said users selecting a search provider through the feature would automatically set that provider as the default search engine for the home-screen search box and the Chrome browser, and would also install the corresponding search application if it was not already present.
Google said on its Choice Screen information page that available search providers vary by country and that the screen is displayed during the initial setup of Android smartphones and tablets sold in markets covered by the DMA.
COMCO said the competitive concerns in Switzerland are comparable to those in the EEA despite the different legal frameworks.
The regulator added that the outcome of the preliminary investigation could also influence how authorities assess default settings on other mobile devices.
EU Android Antitrust Fine
The Swiss investigation comes less than two weeks after Europe’s highest court upheld a multibillion-euro antitrust penalty against Google over Android.On July 2, the Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed Google’s appeal and upheld a 4.1 billion-euro ($4.7 billion) fine after ruling that the company had abused its dominant position by using Android licensing agreements to strengthen its search business and restrict competition.
The decision ended an eight-year legal battle stemming from a July 2018 European Commission decision that found Google required smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the Chrome browser through Android licensing agreements.
The Commission also concluded that Google offered financial incentives to some manufacturers and mobile network operators to install Google Search exclusively on certain devices, making it more difficult for rival search engines and browsers to compete.
The ruling confirmed a reduced penalty imposed by a lower EU court in 2022.
