Switzerland opens probe into Google over Android search default change

Switzerland’s Competition Commission opened a preliminary investigation into Google after the company removed the Android Choice Screen in Switzerland. The setup step had let users pick a preferred search engine during initial device setup; without it, Google Search became the automatic default. The regulator said the change could reduce rival visibility and deepen barriers to entry.

The COMCO Secretariat is examining whether Google’s practice amounts to an unlawful restriction of competition under Switzerland’s Cartel Act and Internal Market Act. COMCO is the independent federal authority responsible for competition enforcement, and the case goes to a basic question of market power on mobile devices: when a default is set before a user makes a choice, rivals often lose the contest before it begins.

Google said it would cooperate fully with the Swiss authority. Its Android help pages say search-engine choice instructions apply only to Japan and the European Economic Area, not Switzerland, even though Switzerland sits within the wider European market. Google introduced the choice screen for search providers in Europe in early 2020, then said in June 2021 that the changes would roll out across Europe after feedback from the European Commission.

The Swiss probe arrives alongside a broader policy push in Bern to rein in major digital platforms. On 29 October 2025, the Swiss Federal Council decided to develop a new law for communication platforms and search engines, and the consultation on that plan ran until 16 February 2026. Under the proposed framework, services used monthly by 10% of the resident population would qualify as very large. Together, the investigation and the draft law show how setup screens and default settings have become a competition-policy battleground, with consequences that could extend beyond Switzerland’s borders.