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German Watchdog Probes Google’s Car-Tech Packages

By  |  June 21, 2023

The antitrust regulator of Germany expressed concern about Google’s in-car infotainment system, citing potential unfair competition due to bundled services.

The Federal Cartel Office informed Alphabet, Google’s parent company, that it plans to prohibit certain anti-competitive practices associated with Google Automotive Services (GAS), according to Bloomberg’s report on a preliminary legal assessment.

The GAS platform, which is licensed to vehicle manufacturers, includes Google Maps, a version of the Google Play app store, and the Google voice assistant.

Read more: Indian Watchdog Sets Its Eyes On Google, Again

“In particular, we take a critical view of Google offering its services for infotainment systems as a bundle only, as this reduces its competitors’ chances to sell their competing services as individual services,” Andreas Mundt, head of the Federal Cartel Office, said in a statement.

Last year, the watchdog initiated an investigation on Google Maps to assess the potential negative impact on competition due to limitations on integrating the platform with third-party map services.