Google's latest antitrust headache is coming from the US government, which is starting to take issue with how Google bundles Google Maps and restricts developers from using competing services.
Nothing's official yet, but Reuters' sources say the US Justice Department "breathed new life into an investigation of Google Maps to determine if bundling the service together with other Google software illegally stifles competition."
The DOJ investigation is concerned with two Google Maps strategies. The first is surprisingly all about Android Automotive—note that this is not Android Auto, the phone app. Android Auto
motive (fully spelled out) is a full operating system manufacturers can ship on their cars. We covered it on the
Polestar 2 last year. Like on phones, Google bundles its apps on Android Automotive. Google Maps is a killer app in a car, but if manufacturers want Google Maps, Google requires them to take the Play Store, the Google Assistant, YouTube Music, and any other car apps the company makes. The Justice Department is concerned that this requirement stifles competition.
What's surprising about this move by the DOJ is that the US never made Google do anything about app bundling on
phones, which is a much larger market. Android Automotive is a very new, very limited OS, available on only around 10 vehicles, like the Polestar 2, other Volvo vehicles like the
XC40 Recharge, the
GMC Hummer EV, and soon
2023 Ford vehicles. Android, meanwhile, is on about 2.5 billion phones worldwide. The US has gone after Google for
limiting app store competition on Android,
paying to be the default search engine on most platforms,
promoting its own services in search, and
anticompetitive behavior in the advertising market. But Google is still free to bundle its apps on phones.
The EU, on the other hand, forced Google to
unbundle Chrome and Search from Android and has stopped Google from punishing Android manufacturers that use the Android source code to make Android forks. Android development is traditionally ad-supported via the bundled Google apps, but now EU manufacturers have the option of
paying for Android if they don't want to bundle all the Google services. If the DOJ investigation ends with forcing Google to unbundle its apps from cars, this kind of payment plan is probably what it would adopt.
The DOJ's second issue is with how Google limits the use of Maps data for app and website developers. Give the Google Maps Platform
terms of service a quick read, and you'll come across a huge list of things you aren't allowed to do with Google Maps data. Section 3.2.3, "Restrictions Against Misusing the Services" comes with wild clauses like "
No Re-Creating Google Products or Features." Basically, you aren't allowed to use Google Maps data to compete with Google in any way. You can't use Maps data with a text-to-speech service, because Google does that already. You can't use Maps data to make a navigation service, because that would compete with Google Maps. You aren't allowed to use the Google Maps API in a car at all, because that would compete with Android, Android Automotive, and a bunch of other products.
arstechnica.com
