Google gives in to pressure from the European Union and will allow other search engines on the market to be freely chosen by users as ‘default’ on Android devices in Europe. The company’s announcement comes with a post on its official blog. Mountain View’s move comes after the plunge in Brussels which in 2018 accused the company of gaining an undue competitive advantage over its operating systems by fining it for 4.24 billion euros. “We have respected the 2018 ruling”, reads the post, which continues: “In dialogue with the European Commission, we went even further” by introducing “a choice screen that asks Android users to choose a default search engine” .
On Android devices, “people can freely choose which applications to use, download and set as default,” he writes Oliver Bethell, director of the company’s legal area, “and research shows that Europeans know how to easily switch search engines if they want to.”
“Following further feedback from the Commission, we are making some final changes to the multiple choice screen, including free entry for eligible search engines,” reads the post again, concluding: “The number will also increase. of search engines shown on the screen. These changes will take effect from September this year on Android devices. “
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