Lots of people use Microsoft’s Edge Internet Explorer for just two reasons: a) because they want to download Chrome or Firefox on a freshly formatted PC, or b) click in the system tray next to it and accidentally open it.
It looks very similar in the world of search engines. Google dominates the competition and it’s not really surprising that even in Bing search Google
is enthroned as the most searched keyword.
But this supposedly funny curiosity is part of a larger legal dispute in which Google’s parent company Alphabet is currently involved. The accusation: Google is said to have enforced its own monopoly position with dishonest means – a clear violation of international antitrust regulations.
This is what an EU commission claims, which already imposed a fine of 4.3 billion euros on the group in 2018 (around two thirds of an annual GameStar editor’s salary).
At a hearing at the end of September, Google’s lawyers held against it: The Google search has a monopoly simply because people like to use the service so much.
What is Google being accused of?
You can read the whole legal situation in detail with the colleagues from Bloomberg, but to summarize the allegations briefly and crisply:
- Google is said to have paid Internet service providers and providers money to have Google preinstalled as the primary search engine.
- Google is said to have forced smartphone manufacturers to install Google as the standard search on their devices, otherwise the license for Google Play would be withdrawn. And Google Play is the primary download source for Android apps.
- Google is said to have actively prevented manufacturers from providing devices with other Android versions that do not adhere to the Google requirements. If you want to sell even a single device with a Google search, you have to forego alternatives in your entire line-up.
Pre-installing Google software has a massive impact on the market, according to the EU Commission. They rely on statistics from 2016, which show that more than 95 percent of all searches are carried out via Google on Android devices.
Windows Phones (which still existed back then) were only used for 25 percent of all searches by Google. The reason is obvious: Google was not a pre-installed search engine on Windows phones.
Nowadays, anyone who searches for things on their smartphones will no longer register in large quantities which machine they are currently starting up. They simply type the search terms into the subject line.
Google holds against it
Google’s lawyers are currently vehemently opposing the allegations and Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai also stated in a Google post that the EU Commission is completely missing the core of the matter: Android and the Google Play Store are yes the epitome of diversity, because a) Android’s source code is made freely available to third-party providers in order to develop any app and b) an average Android user can easily get 50 different apps via Google Play.
Google is so popular only because it is the most reliable source for all possible search services. We will of course keep you updated on how the matter goes. Oh, and if you think: Hmm, today I kind of want to pursue more than just a legal dispute, then take a look at the current situation between Epic and Apple. It’s getting hot there too.