Google Proposes to End Mandatory App Bundling on Android in Antitrust Case

In October, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed to split Android and Chrome to end Google’s search monopoly in the market. This came after a US judge ruled: “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.” Google called the proposed sanction by DOJ “radical” and “sweeping proposals”.

Now, Google has filed its proposed remedy to boost the competition, as part of the antitrust case. Google is proposing that Android device makers will have the freedom to unbundle Google apps. For example, Android manufacturers can choose to preload Play Store and Gmail and leave out Chrome and Google Search.

Not only that, device makers will not be forced to place key Google apps in prominent positions on the home screen. Under Google’s current policy, Android manufacturers have to accept the full suite of Google apps and place prominent apps to ensure CTS/MADA compliance.

Apart from that, Android device manufacturers can preload multiple search engines in order to give opportunity to rival search engines like Bing and DuckDuckGo. Moreover, the default search provider can be changed every 12 months.

As for search engine deals with Apple and Mozilla, Google says companies “should have the freedom to do deals with whatever search engine they think is best for their users.” It essentially means that Google can continue to strike a deal with companies, as it has been doing for many years.

That said, Google proposes that multiple default agreements should be allowed for different platforms. For instance, iPad may have a different default search engine and iOS can have a different one.

So what do you think about Google’s proposed remedies to end its monopolistic practices? Is it going to boost the competition? Share your thoughts in the comments below.