Google Faces Fresh Antitrust Complaint in Europe

Google is facing fresh accusations of anticompetitive behavior in Europe over its Android operating system for mobile phones, even as the Web giant struggles to overcome separate concerns over its dominance of online search.

It said it filed with European Union regulators, Aptoide -- a Portuguese company that runs a marketplace for mobile applications, or app store -- claims that Google is abusing its dominant position in the smartphone market to push users away from app stores that rival its own, Google Play.

"We are struggling to grow, even to survive, in the face of Google systematically setting up obstacles for users to install third-party app stores in the Android platform and blocking competition in their Google Play store," said Paulo Trezentos, Aptoide's co-founder and CEO.

The Lisbon-based company, which says it has six million unique monthly users, said it planned to "join forces with other independent app stores to forge a common front" against Google. The complaint is the latest in a litany of antitrust woes facing the US search giant in Europe.