Google’s EU woes continue – by order

GOOGLE’S latest EU woes could mean opportunity knocks for app developers stymied by contracts that preinstall the US giant’s own services on Android phones and tablets, according to analysts and companies.

The Alphabet Inc unit is expected to face an antitrust fine over Android in the coming days that could top last year’s record €2.4 billion (R37bn) penalty for shutting out rivals to its shopping search service.

But more significant could be an accompanying order freeing up phone manufacturers to choose non-Google apps to install on Android phones. That would yield crucial real estate for app developers, given that about 80 percent of smart mobile devices use Android.

“It would dramatically help us,” said Gabriel Weinberg, chief executive of Paoli, Pennsylvania-based DuckDuckGo Inc, a search engine that doesn’t track users. “It’s clear to me that people would choose other options if the choice was easier to make.” DuckDuckGo said it hadn’t complained to the EU about Google, pointing to the effort involved.

The EU’s investigation targets contracts that require smartphone makers who want to install Google’s Play store to add a bundle of Google services. While the EU’s primary concerns home in on preinstallations of Google’s search and Chrome browser, the suite of apps includes the search giant’s email and map services.

Handset makers don’t have as much of an incentive to pre-load their devices with additional competing apps if Google’s are already on there, according to the EU. European officials worry that users stick with the default they get on their phones, reinforcing Google’s dominance in the case of its search service.

Google dominates mobile search in Europe, with 97 percent of the market. – Bloomberg