Alphabet unit Google has bowed to pressure from rivals and will let them compete for free to be the default search engines on Android devices in Europe, widening a pledge to EU antitrust regulators two years ago, reported Reuters.
The move by the world’s most popular internet search engine comes as the 27-country bloc considers rules that could be introduced next year to force Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook to ensure a level playing field for competitors.
Google’s Android mobile operating system runs on about four-fifths of the world’s smartphones. The US tech giant stated in 2019 that rivals would have to pay via an auction for appearing on a choice screen from which users select their preferred search engine.
Google’s change of heart follows a 4.24-billion-euro ($5.16 billion) fine handed out by the European Commission, the EU antitrust authority, in 2018 for unfairly using Android to cement the dominance of its search engine.
“We are now making some final changes to the Choice Screen including making participation free for eligible search providers. We will also be increasing the number of search providers shown on the screen,” Oliver Bethell, director at Google, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.
The changes will come into effect in September, the blog added.
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