Google will charge search providers to be the Android default in Europe

ronjor · Aug 2, 2019

By Thomas Ricker@Trixxy Aug 2, 2019

The top-three bidders will join Google on the choice screen
Starting in early 2020, Google will present a new search provider choice screen to Android users in Europe when first setting up a new phone or tablet. The selection will then be the default search provider that powers the search box on the Android home screen as well as the Chrome browser if installed. Search providers will be required to pay Google each time a user selects them from the choice screen. Inclusion on the choice screen will be determined through a sealed-bid auction, with the top three bidders added alongside Google search.
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guest · Aug 14, 2019

Google’s rivals opt out of search engine auction, calling it ‘unethical’ and ‘anti-competitive’
August 12, 2019
https://venturebeat.com/2019/08/12/...on-calling-it-unethical-and-anti-competitive/

So-called “ethical” search engine Ecosia has confirmed that it won’t take part in Google’s closed auction to become the default search provider on Android phones in Europe, and has called on the internet giant to halt its “damaging monopolostic behavior” that is “unethical and anti-competitive.”
Ecosia also argued that search engines driven by a specific purpose besides profits — for example, ones that focus on privacy or fighting the climate crisis — will not be likely to succeed in the auction.

“Alternative search engines that focus on privacy or specific causes are unlikely to be able to competitively bid in this suggested auction set-up,” the company said.
In the days that followed, other potential bidders seemingly ruled themselves out of the auction process. Gabriel Weinberg, founder and CEO of privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo, [...]

2) A pay-to-play auction with only 4 slots means consumers won't get all the choices they deserve, and Google will profit at the expense of the competition. We encourage regulators to work directly with Google, us, and others to ensure the best system for consumers.
— Gabriel Weinberg (@yegg) August 2, 2019
[...] presenting users with just three alternatives during the device setup could imply that those are the only options available to them. This creates “artificial scarcity,” according to a statement Ecosia issued today.
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Ecosia: Why we're saying no to Google

guest · Aug 14, 2019

keep planting trees and stop whining...without google i wont know they even exist...be glad to have a chance to gain more exposition and visibility, now if they don't want to pay for it, it is their choice... freeloaders...

Daveski17 · Aug 14, 2019

This has nothing to do with whining or whinging. A company can be rightly blamed or criticised for their respective methods if they are breaking laws or infringing rights by using unjustified and unfair methods. The social darwinism of ‘force majeure’ is a weak and bigoted argument and does not accurately reflect all business practice. It is a projection of a subjective and invented ‘Gordon Gekko/Sun Tzu’ universe that only exists in Hollywood movies. It doesn’t even accurately reflect or parallel the biological realities of Darwin’s original theory. In its essence it is a gross oversimplification and a reductionist argument designed to promote a particular and tendentious world view.

guest · Aug 14, 2019

Daveski17 said: ↑

A company can be rightly blamed or criticised for their respective methods if they are breaking laws or infringing rights by using unjustified and unfair methods.
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In this case they arent breaking the law, so your whole post is meaningless and sole purpose is to bash a point of view you disagree with.
You have you opinion, i have mine, that is it. feel free to ignore it next time.

Minimalist · Aug 14, 2019

Well that's what we get when regulators allow monopolies to form and kill all possible competition. At the end, users are those that lose most. It's been shown many times and it's no different with Google.

guest · Aug 14, 2019

Minimalist said: ↑

Well that's what we get when regulators allow monopolies to form and kill all possible competition. At the end, users are those that lose most. It's been shown many times and it's no different with Google.
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exactly, the blame is on the regulators and people who let them do; only narrow-minded people missed the whole picture and just blame the company.

Daveski17 · Aug 14, 2019

guest said: ↑

In this case they arent breaking the law, so your whole post is meaningless and sole purpose is to bash a point of view you disagree with.
You have you opinion, i have mine, that is it. feel free to ignore it next time.
Click to expand...

You'll notice 'if' is a subjunctive. So my whole post is totally relevant. I think someone is becoming paranoid here.

guest · Jan 9, 2020

Bing loses out to DuckDuckGo in Google’s new Android search engine ballot
Google will start offering EU users a choice for their default search engine
January 9, 2020
https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/9/2...e-duckduckgo-bing-default-eu-antitrust-ruling

Google has announced the alternative search engines it will show to new Android users in the EU, with DuckDuckGo the most frequently offered choice and Bing tied for last place.

EU citizens setting up Android devices from March 1 will be given a choice of four search engines to use as their default, including Google. Whichever provider they chose will become the default for searches made in Chrome and through Android’s home screen search box. A dedicated app for that provider will also be installed on their device.
You can see the full selections that will be shown to users in the EU below: [...]
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Daveski17 · Jan 9, 2020

guest said: ↑

In this case they arent breaking the law, so your whole post is meaningless and sole purpose is to bash a point of view you disagree with.
You have you opinion, i have mine, that is it. feel free to ignore it next time.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input, Mr Umbra Glove Puppet.

guest · Jan 30, 2020

DuckDuckGo has other ideas for Google’s EU search choice screen
The changes include more search engine options and an introductory screen aimed at reducing bias
January 28, 2020
https://searchengineland.com/duckduckgo-has-other-ideas-for-googles-eu-search-choice-screen-328339

Even though it’s one of the options, DuckDuckGo is not happy with Google’s proposed search choice screen for Android users in the EU and has released a proposal of its own. It boils down to giving users more search engine choices and more details about the selection process.
More search engine choices
Google’s proposed screen presents users with four search engine options (including Google itself).
The three competitors that will appear were determined in an auction. “We believe Google’s search preference menu for the European Union is designed in a way that undercuts the very reason it was created,” DuckDuckGo’s proposal reads [...]

DuckDuckGo’s proposal adds a scrollable screen with larger logos and a brief description of each option (without a drop-down menu).
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guest · Mar 12, 2020

Chrome adds Ecosia as search provider option in 47 countries
March 12, 2020
https://www.neowin.net/news/chrome-adds-ecosia-as-search-provider-option-in-47-countries

Ecosia has announced that Chrome users will be able to switch to its search engine in an upcoming update to the mobile edition of the browser. Ecosia, which plants trees after every 45 searches, will feature alongside Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Yahoo! as a pre-configured search provider.

The option to pick Ecosia will be available to people in 47 countries around the world. The firm said it hopes Chrome’s huge user base will see more people switch to its product. Earlier this month, Ecosia said that its search engine wouldn’t be present in the Android search engine choice screen across Europe because it didn’t agree with Google’s decision to make firms bid to be listed.
Expanding on that point, Ecosia said today:

“It’s important that there are independent players in the market that don’t exist solely to make profit. We dedicate our profits to tree planting and we are also focused on privacy, so users can have a positive impact on the environment while having greater control over their personal information.”
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Ecosia: Ecosia is now a default search engine option in Chrome!

guest · Sep 29, 2020

Bing, smaller firms, win Google's Android search auction in Europe
September 29, 2020
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ndroid-search-auction-in-europe-idUSKBN26K1UQ

Microsoft's MSFT.O Bing, PrivacyWall and Info.com were among the search engines that won a quarterly auction by Alphabet's GOOGL.O Google to show up as search options on new Android devices in 31 European countries.

Google offered to allow competitors to bid for advertising space at the top of a search page on Android devices after the European Union in 2018 fined the company billions for violating antitrust rules.
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DuckDuckGo, which won the auction in eight countries, criticised the process, saying it encouraged bidders to exploit users.

"Google's auction further incentivizes search engines to be worse on privacy, to increase ads, and to not donate to good causes, because, if they do those things, then they could afford to bid higher," DuckDuckGo said in a blog post here.
A Google spokeswoman said: “the goal is to give all search providers equal opportunity to bid; not to give certain rivals special treatment.”
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DuckDuckGo: As Predicted, Google’s Search Preference Menu Eliminates DuckDuckGo

The Q4 2020 results of Google’s search preference menu auction have been released and, as we predicted, DuckDuckGo has been eliminated in most countries.

This EU antitrust remedy is only serving to further strengthen Google’s dominance in mobile search by boxing out alternative search engines that consumers want to use and, for those search engines that remain, taking most of their profits from the preference menu.

The auction model is fundamentally flawed and must be replaced.

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