About a year and a half ago, Google started auctioning the chance to be one of the search engines that European users could choose as standard on Android devices. And in the past year and a half, we’ve seen some family ad targeting giants continue to occupy these expensive spaces.
This auction was the result of a massive antitrust case led by European authorities in 2018. In addition to imposing a $ 5 billion fine on the company, regulators also demanded that Google start offering users the option to boot their Android phones in relation to the browser or search application they prefer to use , rather than requiring them to use Google itself. Google thanks, but in the most Google way possible: demanding that competitors fight financially for the chance to appear in one of the four search slots on the coveted Android screen of choice.
THE results for the last auction are less than promising. When it comes to choices, the truth is that tens of millions Android users will largely choose from one of four non-Google options when it comes to search: Bing, GMX, owned by Microsoft – which belongs to the German digital giant United Internet AG, or the ironically called PrivacyWall, which belongs to a major adtech company called Social gaming media.
How TechCrunch points, the only thing that all of these participants have in common is making huge profits from tracking and targeting users in search, in a very similar way to that of Google. In the meantime, it is important to note that, despite these other options, the search giant is still, well, a search giant in the region. In addition to swallowing the majority of the search engine market internationally, Google practically takes more than 85% market share in member countries of the European Union.
When asked about the European Union’s failure to contain Google’s cruel behavior in the region, some of Google’s search competitors previously said the Washington Post that this was the natural result of letting Google solve its own problems. In other words, EU authorities have literally allowed Google to charge rivals for the privilege of appearing on the Android selection menu – and challenging the company’s dominance in the process. Who did they think would win?
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