Seyma Erkul Dayanc
14 July 2026•Update: 14 July 2026
Switzerland's competition authority on Tuesday launched a preliminary investigation into Google over concerns that the company may be restricting competition by making its search engine the default option on certain Android smartphones, Swissinfo reported.
According to the Secretariat of the Swiss Competition Commission (Weko), Google recently removed the "Choice Screen" feature in Switzerland, which had allowed users to select their preferred default search engine when setting up a new Android device.
As a result, Google Search is automatically set as the default search engine during the initial setup of certain mobile phones in Switzerland without offering users an alternative, the authority said.
Weko noted that the "Choice Screen" remains available in the EU.
The authority said default settings play a key role in digital markets and that the choice screen was designed to reduce the competitive advantage created by pre-selected services.
"The removal of this feature could limit the visibility of search engines competing with Google during device set-up, thereby raising barriers to market entry," Weko said in a statement.
The preliminary investigation will assess whether there are grounds to believe Google's practices constitute an unlawful restriction of competition under Switzerland's Cartel Act.
Weko said the findings could also be relevant in assessing default-setting practices on other mobile devices.
