Windows Phone users have been complaining for years that Google is abusing its dominant market position to harm Microsoft’s mobile platform, and it turns out that, in the end, their voice has been heard.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the United Kingdom is said to be planning an investigation against Google for the way it used its position as a leader of the mobile market in relation to the other companies that are part of the same business, and Windows Phone is believed to be one of the victims.
Although a formal announcement is not yet available, WinBeta notes that Google has already been notified that the CMA is looking into the case and will try to determine whether the search giant has indeed made any abuse in relation to competitors or not.
If you’re asking Windows Phone users, there’s no need for an investigation here because everyone knows that Google hasn’t actually been a big supporter of Windows, and with its decisions regarding the platform, it actually violated competition rules and abused its leading position.
Google’s unfair strategy regarding Windows Phone
How exactly did Google abuse its power? Windows Phone currently has absolutely no Google apps (aside from Search, which does nothing more than let you search the web, so nobody is using it), despite the fact that users have been calling for the company to release Maps, Gmail, or Google Plus for Windows Phone for years. Furthermore, titles such as Pokemon Go, which is based on the Google Maps API, aren’t available on Windows Phone or Windows 10 Mobile.
By not releasing its apps on Windows Phone, Google could impact Microsoft’s mobile platform, but it’ll be hard to put together a case and fine the search giant just for not launching apps on Windows.
On the other hand, there were violations that could be used as proof if such an investigation goes through, including the recent blunder that made it impossible for Windows 10 Mobile users to access Gmail on their phones. Google said it was all just a mistake and corrected the problem in a few days.
And there were also minor things, such as serving Windows 10 users with Edge a WAP version of Google News, and not the modern version of the news service, so the CMA has a lot of research to do if it decides to put Windows Phone on the victim list.
For the moment, we’re still waiting for statements from the involved parties, and expect more information to surface should the case go through.
