The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade), has opened an inquiry into supposed anti-competitive practices related to Google’s operational system Android in Brazil. The case is still at an early stage, whose probes may lead to a more sizable investigation.
Cade questions Google about practices adopted by the company considered anti-competitive by the European Commission as part of a case that had a decision released in July 2018. Cade wants to know whether these practices also violated Brazil’s economic order and harmed local consumers.
According to the European Commission, Google imposed restrictions on smartphone makers and telecom operators using Android in 2011 in order to “consolidate its dominant position in online searches.” The corporation is said to have made Android lead users to use its own search engine.
Among the practices brought under scrutiny by investigators are the mandatory pre-installation of Google’s own search applications and browser and money payed to manufacturers and operators aimed at ensuring this pre-installation. Google is also said to have banned manufacturers from selling devices with Android versions not authorized by the firm.
Android has become the world’s most used operational system, overtaking Microsoft’s Windows.
Google’s press advisers told Agência Brasil that Android has “made it possible for millions of Brazilian to connect to the internet by making cellphones more affordable and speed-ng up their popularization.
Source: Agência Brasil