Competition Board targets Google over Android practices

ANKARA

Türkiye’s Competition Board has opened an investigation into Google over concerns that the company’s Android-related agreements with mobile device manufacturers and new rules affecting app developers may be restricting competition.

The watchdog said it is examining whether contractual arrangements that emerged after a previous Android-related decision in 2018 could violate Law No. 4054, Türkiye’s main competition law, based on findings from its “Mobile Ecosystems” sector review.

Among the practices under scrutiny are concerns that Google may be creating de facto exclusivity for its search services through the Google Search widget, and giving Google Search a broad default advantage via services such as Google Chrome and Google Assistant.

The board is also looking at whether Google is granting various advantages to the Chrome browser and whether device makers licensing the operating system are prevented from developing a new operating system based on Android’s open-source code or using third-party operating systems built on that code on their devices.

In addition to manufacturer contracts, the authority said it will also review recent policy changes under Google’s “Android Developer Verification Program,” which it said imposes new obligations on Android app developers. The board will assess whether these changes could amount to a competition-law violation.