Google voice assistant in new EU antitrust investigation, MLex reports

BRUSSELS / BANGALURU, Sept. 9 (Reuters) – Google is the subject of an EU antitrust investigation over whether it is forcing device makers to install Google Assistant as the default voice assistant on Android devices, a MLex news agency reported on Thursday.

A new EU antitrust case could subject Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google to a fine of up to 10% of its global revenue. He has been fined more than 8 billion euros ($ 9.5 billion) by the European Commission over the past decade in three separate cases.

The Commission said in June that its sector inquiry into internet-connected devices had raised concerns among respondents about certain exclusivity and tied selling practices related to voice assistants such as smart device producers being barred from install a second voice assistant on a device. Read more

The most popular voice assistants in Europe are Amazon’s Alexa (AMZN.O), Apple’s Siri (AAPL.O) and Google Assistant, with the global market expected to double to 8.4 billion devices, from 4. 2 billion between 2020 and 2024, depending on the market. Statista research company.

The EU competition authority has asked device makers to provide any evidence that they are required to pre-install Google Assistant and whether Google wants exclusivity by banning rivals from Android devices, MLex said .

Google has said that Android offers more choice than any other mobile platform.

“Manufacturers can choose which voice assistants to install on their devices and users can also choose which assistants to use and install,” the company said in an email.

The Commission declined to comment and referred to a press conference by EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager in June on the sector inquiry.

It’s no surprise that voice assistants may be the next big battleground between U.S. tech giants and antitrust regulators due to the sheer amount of data being generated on their users, said Andrea Pomana, a partner at the firm. lawyers Beiten Burkhardt.

“So it wouldn’t be surprising if big tech companies would use their market power to promote their own voice assistants and powerful device makers on less than favorable contract terms,” ​​she said.

“Google would do well to review its business practices with its partners, because the Commission, which still aspires to the Digital Markets Act, could lose patience.”

The Commission is also interested in whether Google could use its certification process for new devices to ensure exclusivity in another way, and the importance of the Google Play Store for different ecosystems, MLex said.

The regulator is also checking whether users can use at least two voice assistants at the same time, the news agency said.

The Commission has announced that it will publish a final report on its sector inquiry in the first half of 2022, after which it may open investigations.

($ 1 = € 0.8454)

Report by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru and Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Susan Fenton and David Evans

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