Corrected – Google under US antitrust scanner for Android operating system

Google is facing antitrust scrutiny in the United States over its Android operating system, Bloomberg is reporting, citing “two people familiar with the matter”.

Android is an open source operating system, but numerous apps and services that Android phone and tablet buyers see and use are proprietary Google offerings, including Google Now, the Play Store, and Google Maps.

According to a new report by Bloomberg, the Federal Trade Commission will try to determine whether Google is allowing fair competition or not.

Now, however, the FTC is set to head a joint investigation with the U.S. Department of Justice into Google’s Android licensing, Bloomberg reports.

Back in April, the European Commission (EU) officially accused Google of abusing its dominant position on the market in Europe. However, officials have met with Google’s rivals over accusations that it prioritises its own services on Android.

The investigation is said to be “in its early stages” and it’s unclear whether the enquiries would result in a lawsuit or not.

The European Union is also looking into whether Google bundled its own apps and service with Android.

As already mentioned, Google has been investigated before, their Search business that is, but two years ago FTC couldn’t conduct a proper investigation because the commission voted 5-0 not to bring move forward with it. Google is not the only company on FTC’s radar though, Apple and Amazon have also been on FTC’s list lately. However, if a company dominates the market for a certain product that is in high demand, and basically forces consumers to buy a complementary product, well, that’s a completely different story.

In a ideal world, a company should allow customers to choose from alternate manufacturers if they want to avoid bundled products. To make an antitrust case out of this situation will be hard.