Swiss Android users no longer get to choose their default search engine when setting up a new phone. Their EU neighbours still do.
Switzerland's competition watchdog has opened a preliminary investigation into Google after the tech giant removed a feature allowing users to choose their default search engine when setting up Android devices in the country.
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The Competition Commission, known in Switzerland by its acronym (WEKO), said on Tuesday its secretariat had launched the probe to examine whether the removal of the so-called "Choice Screen" constitutes an unlawful restriction of competition under Swiss cartel law.
"Default settings play a crucial role in digital markets... eliminating this feature could restrict the visibility of search engines that compete with Google during device setup, thereby increasing barriers to market entry," WEKO said in a press release.
The Choice Screen, which appears during the initial setup of a new Android device and prompts users to select a default search engine, was discontinued by Google in Switzerland while remaining available across the European Economic Area.
Why are the rules different in Switzerland?
Switzerland is neither an EU nor an EEA member, and the Digital Markets Act does not apply on Swiss territory.
The search choice screen originated as a remedy in the EU's Android antitrust case: in March 2020, the European Commission and Google agreed it would appear on all new Android devices shipped to the EEA and the UK.
It was later reinforced by the DMA, which requires gatekeepers to show users choice screens and to let them easily change a default they do not want. Google was designated a gatekeeper in September 2023 and expanded its choice screens in March 2024 to comply.
No equivalent Swiss obligation exists and Swiss officials had expected they would not need one.
A 2023 assessment by the government's Interdepartmental Coordination Group on EU Digital Policy concluded that large foreign gatekeepers would apply EU rules in Switzerland anyway, on the grounds that treating the two markets differently would not be financially worthwhile and that Swiss users were therefore likely to benefit from the DMA in practice.
Google's removal of the choice screen tests that assumption directly.
Switzerland does have a platform law in the pipeline. The Federal Council opened a consultation in October 2025 on a Federal Act on Communication Platforms and Search Engines, which closed in February.
But it would not cover this case, since the bill is modelled on the EU's Digital Services Act rather than the DMA and deals with content moderation and transparency rather than default settings. The bill is not expected to reach parliament before late 2026 or early 2027.
The preliminary investigation will seek to determine whether there are grounds to pursue a formal competition case.
