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Google announced that it would start asking European Android users which browser and which search engine they would prefer to use on their devices, as a result of regulatory actions taken by the company for the way it bundles software in its mobile operating system. Last year, Google was sentenced to a record $ 5 billion fine by European regulators for violating antitrust laws and stopping the "illegal" tied selling of Chrome and its application of search to Android.
Google's initial response has been to start charging manufacturers' licensing fees for the Play Store and other apps, while offering the option to include Chrome and the Google search app as a whole free of charge. Today, Kent Walker, vice president of international relations, said in a blog post that Google went even further by offering users "new and existing Android devices in Europe" a direct choice of services.
"On Android phones, you've always been able to install any search engine or browser of your choice, regardless of what was pre-installed on the phone during the purchase," says Walker. "In fact, a typical Android phone user will typically install around 50 additional apps on their phone … Now we'll also do more to make Android phone owners aware of the large selection of browsers and search engines available for download. on their phone. Phones. "
Google did not specify when this would happen beyond "in the coming months", nor which competing products would be put forward. This decision will make an unavoidable comparison to the Microsoft "browser vote" web page posted to Internet Explorer users in 2010 to comply with a similar decision by the European Commission. Microsoft withdrew the page in 2014 after the expiration of its obligation.
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