Swiss Competition Commission opens preliminary investigation against Google

The background is the practice whereby Google traditionally pre-sets its own search engine as the default on Android devices. With the "Choice Screen" feature, users were shown a selection of search engines when first setting up the device. According to Weko, this feature is still available in the European Union, but has been discontinued in Switzerland.

Significance of default settings

The authority also emphasized that the results of the proceedings could also be relevant for the assessment of similar practices with other mobile operating systems. This means it cannot be ruled out that the preliminary investigation will have a signaling effect beyond the specific Google case on how default settings on smartphones and tablets in Switzerland are handled.

Google is a subsidiary of the US group Alphabet, and the stock market sometimes reacts sensitively to regulatory steps. A company spokesperson has not publicly commented on the Swiss preliminary investigation so far. The amount of any possible market shares in Switzerland has also not been quantified by Weko to date.

The Swiss Competition Commission, based in Bern, is the country's most important antitrust body. It can impose fines and issue rulings for violations of the Cartel Act. However, a preliminary investigation is expressly not yet an investigation in the actual sense, but rather an initial examination.

Possible consequences of proceedings

Observers interpret Weko's move as a signal that oversight of large digital corporations is also gaining sharpness in Switzerland. In the EU, several proceedings against Google are already underway regarding similar issues surrounding the pre-installation of apps and search functions on Android devices. The Swiss authority frequently aligns its practice with the case law of the EU Commission.

According to Weko, the preliminary investigation is open-ended. Should the authority find evidence of an unlawful restriction of competition, it could open antitrust proceedings. At the end of these, conditions, the restoration of the selection screen, or even financial sanctions could be imposed.

Market observers and competition lawyers also point out that with the preliminary investigation, Weko is gaining time to examine more closely the market situation and possible effects on competitors such as Microsoft's Bing or DuckDuckGo. According to experts, several months are likely to pass before an initial decision is made.