Bundeskartellamt warning: Google Automotive Services and Google Maps targeted

The German Federal Cartel Office has issued a warning to Google and its parent company Alphabet over concerns about possible anti-competitive practices related to Google Automotive Services and Google Maps. The agency has alerted the technology company that these practices could potentially be banned. Google now has the opportunity to respond to the allegations.

Legal basis of the warning

The Bundeskartellamt’s warning is based on the Act against Restraints of Competition, which was reformed in 2019, in particular Section 19a. Last year, the Federal Cartel Office had placed Google under “extended abuse supervision.” Now Andreas Mundt, the president of the Bundeskartellamt, has stated that Google’s practices in licensing automotive services for vehicles are not compatible with the rules of the section. In particular, he expressed concerns about Google’s bundling of services for infotainment systems.

Problems with bundling services

Google Automotive Services include Google Maps, the Google Play app store and Google Assistant. The operating system is the Android Automotive Operating System (AAOS). The combination of these three services with AAOS, which is called the GAS Infotainment Platform, provides a largely complete infotainment system. Google generally offers vehicle manufacturers these three services only as a bundle.

The Bundeskartellamt sees this bundling of services as a potential significant threat to competition and an opportunity for Google to expand its position of power in additional markets. The authority also criticizes contractual provisions that oblige Google licensees to set Google services as default or to place them on the display before other applications.

Concerns regarding Google Maps

The German Federal Cartel Office expresses concerns that Google could make it more difficult or even refuse to make its services in the GAS Infotainment Platform interoperable with third-party services. This could result in services from Google competitors being unusable or usable only to a limited extent, for example a voice assistant to control the navigation function in Google Maps. The authority notes that Google has already successfully used such practices in mobile devices to expand and secure its market position.

Further concerns and ongoing investigations

In addition to the above concerns, the Bundeskartellamt is also critical of the agreement between Google and some vehicle manufacturers under which Google will share in advertising revenue from the use of Google Assistant, provided that it is used exclusively as a voice

assistant in the vehicles. This agreement could lead to vehicle manufacturers being pressured to use Google Assistant exclusively, thus excluding other voice assistants from competition.

The German Federal Cartel Office has also announced that it will conduct further investigations into Google’s practices. In particular, the authority will examine whether Google is abusing its dominant position by favoring its own services and putting competitors at a disadvantage.

Google’s response to warning

Google has responded to the Bundeskartellamt’s warning letter, announcing that it will work constructively with the authorities to address the concerns. A company spokesperson stressed that there is “tremendous competition” in the connected car sector and that thousands of applications are compatible with Android Auto. Automakers could choose from a wide range of information and entertainment services to offer in their vehicles.

Outlook

The Federal Cartel Office’s warning is an important step in the regulation of technology companies and could have far-reaching implications for the way Google and other technology companies offer their services. It remains to be seen how Google will respond to the warning letter and whether the company will change its practices to address the Bundeskartellamt’s concerns. It is also possible that this situation will lead to further investigation and possibly further regulation in the technology industry.