The US is looking into whether free Android mobile software is giving an unfair advantage to other Google offerings such as its search engine, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staffers have met with companies in recent months about concerns that Alphabet-owned Google is abusing the dominant position of Android software for powering smartphones or tablets, according to the Journal.

Concerns at issue are similar to some targeted by European Union regulators, and the FTC is even interested in learning about evidence being used to back a case there, it reported.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the newspaper said the FTC's move extends a probe that began last year.

Google and the FTC declined to comment on the report.

The Android operating system accounts for about 80 percent of the world market for mobile phones, far ahead of Google's closest rival, Apple.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says the Silicon Valley giant has used practices such as making manufacturers pre-install its market-leading search engine as the default in phones to "abuse its dominant position."

Brussels believes such practices breach EU competition law.

The EU has accused Google of obstructing innovation by giving unfair prominence to its own apps, especially its search engine, in deals with mobile manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei.

Google must now respond within three months to avoid sanctions which could amount to fines of up to 10 percent of the group's annual global sales or $7.4 billion based on their 2015 results.

Google has sought to downplay it's anti-trust battle with the European Commission and stressed in a recent blog post that people who buy Android-powered devices can change applications such as "search" that are pre-loaded on devices.

US court rules Amazon liable for kids' app charges
Washington (AFP) April 27, 2016 - Online giant Amazon must pay damages to consumers billed for app purchases by children on its tablets, a federal court has ruled, in a win for US regulators.

The US Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday the court backed its lawsuit, which argued that Amazon failed to get consent from parents whose children made in-app purchases on the Kindle and Fire tablets, sometimes racking up huge bills.

The FTC has also reached settlements with Apple and Google on similar cases, arguing the lack of passwords had allowed children to make app purchases without parental consent.

"We are pleased the federal judge found Amazon liable for unfairly billing consumers for unauthorized in-app purchases by children," said FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez.

"We look forward to making a case for full refunds to consumers as a result of Amazon's actions."

Federal judge John Coughenour in Seattle, Washington ruled Tuesday that Amazon and the FTC should submit briefs on the amount of compensation to be given.

"Given the design of the Appstore and procedures around in-app purchases, it is reasonable to conclude that many customers were never aware that they had made an in-app purchase," the judge said in his ruling.

But he stopped short of issuing an injunction against Amazon, which in updated hardware and software has required passwords for app purchases.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a query on the case.