You most likely arrived at this article from the Google search engine, or you are on the Chrome browser, which uses the Google search engine by default. Such is the dominating power of Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Google, that most people do not even know that there are alternatives to the Google search engine.
Most Android devices come preinstalled with apps and services from Google like Gmail, Chrome etc. just to name a few. Very few people get to experience other products like the DuckDuckGo search engine or the Edge browser from Microsoft. This in turn directly contributes to the overwhelming dominance of Google in the Android ecosystem.
Google’s dominance does not end in the Android world, as the company also pays billions of dollars each year to Apple so that Apple’s browser, Safari, can come preinstalled with the Google search engine as the default search option.
However, The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has laid out plans to reduce Google’s dominance in the search engine business by making the tech giant install a “choice screen” on smartphones so that users can pick another search engine if they want.
The Australian regulator also wants to limit Google’s ability to pay Apple Inc to have its search engine installed as the default option on the smartphone maker’s devices.
This move by Australia would align with the European Union’s regulations, enacted three years ago, which forced Google to offer a choice of search engine on phones using its Android operating system. At the moment, Google has 94% of the Australian search engine market, which they greatly profit from by selling advertisements.
“We are concerned that Google’s dominance and its ability to use its financial resources to fund arrangements to be the default search engine on many devices and other means through which consumers access search, such as browsers, is harming competition and consumers,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said in a statement.
“Google pays billions of dollars each year for these placements, which illustrates how being the default search engine is extremely valuable to Google’s business model.”
Google, on their part, have not really spoken against the regulation but have instead replied that they are reviewing the report and are looking forward to discussing it with the Australian regulator.
“People use Google Search because it’s helpful, not because they have to, and its popularity is based on quality that’s built on two decades of innovation. Android gives people choice by allowing them to customise their device — from the apps they download to the default services for those apps. Preinstallation benefits users by making it easier for them to use services quickly and easily. We are continuing to review the report and look forward to discussing it with the ACCC and Government.” Google’s statement regarding the new ACCC regulations.
Advertisements being Google’s most consistent source of profit over the years shows the value of controlling the tool which users use daily while looking up words, searching for exciting products or reading the latest news. Australia and the European Union enacting this law might prompt the other markets to follow suit in a move that might resurrect other search engines like Yahoo, Bing and Ecosia which mostly exist in the shadows of casual users of the internet.
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