Google complies with EU regulations: provides Android users with 12 optional search engines

According to reports, Google announced today that based on feedback from the European Union, it will launch a new "search engine option" for European Android users in September this year, allowing them to choose their default search platform from up to 12 search engines.

[[404737]]

In accordance with a decision of the European Commission in July 2018, Google announced on August 2, 2019 that it would provide a "search engine selection box" on Android phones and tablets in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, allowing users to customize their own default search engine.

Today, based on the feedback from the European Commission, Google made final changes to the "search engine choice box", including allowing qualified search providers to participate for free. In addition, Google has increased the number of optional search providers to 12, including Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia and info.com.

Google said that the top five most popular search engines in each EU country (including Google) will be displayed randomly (for free) at the top of the screen, while the remaining seven will be displayed at the bottom. Previously, Google only allowed four search engines to be displayed in an auction format.

The changes will take effect in September this year. The European Commission has not yet commented on this.

Google's Android mobile operating system currently runs on about 4/5 of the world's smartphones. Google's move comes as the 27 EU member states are considering introducing new rules next year to force Google, Amazon, Apple and Facebook to provide a level playing field for competitors.

In July 2018, the European Union imposed a record fine of 4.3 billion euros (about 5 billion U.S. dollars) on Google for abusing its Android market dominance by bundling its own search engine and Chrome applications into the operating system. At the same time as the fine, the EU also required Google to adjust its Android business.