Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, is facing a formal antitrust complaint filed with the European Commission by six human and digital rights organisations.
The groups allege that Alphabet has failed to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), particularly with regard to users’ ability to uninstall pre-installed software applications on Android devices, Reuters reported.
The complainants—ARTICLE 19, European Digital Rights (EDRi), Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF), Homo Digitalis, and Vrijschrift.org—have urged the Commission to open a formal investigation into what they describe as Alphabet’s non-compliance with obligations set out under the DMA.
In their joint complaint, the organisations argue that Alphabet, as a designated gatekeeper under the DMA, has designed its Android operating system to obscure the option for users to uninstall certain Google pre-installed applications. Furthermore, they claim that users who do manage to find a way to disable these apps are met with warnings that deter them from proceeding, allegedly undermining the DMA’s goal of increasing user autonomy and platform fairness.
“Alphabet has designed its Core Platform Service Android in a way to hide from end users the possibility to disable its own pre-installed gatekeeper apps,” the complaint states. “What is more, Alphabet goes to great length to scare away end users who have found that possibility against all odds.”
Under the DMA, which entered into force in 2023, designated gatekeepers are subject to a range of obligations intended to curb anti-competitive practices and foster greater contestability in digital markets. One such obligation requires gatekeepers to technically enable the easy uninstallation of software applications on their platforms.
Alphabet has denied the allegations. “It is easy to uninstall apps on Android devices, so this complaint does not represent a genuine user concern,” a Google spokesperson said. “Other regulators, including the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), have previously dismissed this complaint.”
The European Commission confirmed receipt of the complaint and stated that it is currently assessing it in accordance with its standard procedures.
This case test the DMA’s enforcement mechanisms and its capacity to influence the behavior of dominant tech platforms in the European digital ecosystem.
