Europe’s antitrust chief scrutinizing Google’s Android contracts

Google will be concerned the European Commission’s antitrust commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, is not letting up the pressure in an ongoing probe of its Android mobile OS.

In a speech today at a conference in the Netherlands, Vestager said her department is now “closely” examining Google’s contracts with mobile makers and carriers — with specific concerns focused on the requirements the company places on mobile partners to pre-load its apps on devices.

“Our concern is that, by requiring phone makers and operators to pre-load a set of Google apps, rather than letting them decide for themselves which apps to load, Google might have cut off one of the main ways that new apps can reach customers,” she said.

Read more...