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 voiceĪssistant in the vehicles. Further concerns and ongoing investigations The authority notes that Google has already successfully used such practices in mobile devices to expand and secure its market position. 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 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. 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. 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. Google generally offers vehicle manufacturers these three services only as a bundle. The combination of these three services with AAOS, which is called the GAS Infotainment Platform, provides a largely complete infotainment system. The operating system is the Android Automotive Operating System (AAOS). Google Automotive Services include Google Maps, the Google Play app store and Google Assistant. In particular, he expressed concerns about Google’s bundling of services for infotainment systems. 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. The Bundeskartellamt’s warning is based on the Act against Restraints of Competition, which was reformed in 2019, in particular Section 19a. Further concerns and ongoing investigations.
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