The European Commission’s recent announcement is calling for further modifications to Google Search, Android, and Play, which will ultimately harm European businesses and consumers, stifle innovation, compromise security, and diminish product quality.

Adversely Affecting European Consumers and Businesses

The Commission’s findings necessitate additional changes to the way we display specific types of search results, making it more challenging for users to find what they’re looking for and reducing traffic to European businesses. This approach is fundamentally misguided.

Putting Europeans at Risk of Malware and Fraud from Malicious Apps

The Commission’s findings on Android and Play create a false dichotomy between openness and security. They risk exposing Europeans to increased malware and fraud, potentially limiting our ability to provide openness in the future:

• Unlike iOS, where Apple requires pre-approval of apps, developers can freely distribute apps on Android, offering more choices than any other platform – with 50 times more apps available on Android than on iOS. However, if we cannot protect our users from scammy or malicious links that direct them outside the secure Play environment, the Commission is effectively forcing us to choose between a closed model and an insecure one.
• Similarly, if we cannot charge reasonable fees to support the ongoing development of Android and the Play services we offer, we cannot invest in an open platform that powers billions of phones worldwide, aiding not just those who can afford the latest premium models costing 1000 Euros or more.

We will continue to engage with the Commission and comply with its regulations. However, today’s findings increase the risk of a subpar experience for Europeans. The DMA aims to regulate large platforms like Google, Apple, and Meta, promoting competition, but in reality, it is having the opposite effect, harming European businesses and consumers. We hope to find a solution to address these concerns.