Rivals refuse to pay Google to open up search engine market

A GOOGLE bid to demonstrate it is open to competition following a £4bn fine for monopoly abuse has backfired, with rivals alleging it is potentially “misleading” consumers with a system of fees that limits choice.

After the EU found Google had used its Android smartphone software to tighten the stranglehold of its dominant web search engine, it offered challengers the chance to pay to promote themselves to users.

Google hopes the likes of Yahoo!, Duckduckgo, Ecosia and Qwant will bid against each other for a place on a screen offering alternative search engines when Android users in Europe first turn on their new smartphone.

To rank alongside Google’s own search engine, rivals would be required to pay each time a user picks them – a system similar to Google’s search services, whereby advertisers compete to appear at the top of results.

However, challengers are refusing to pay. Éric Leandri, co-founder of Qwant, based in France, said his company was reviewing whether Google’s plans were legal. The move was not “an appropriate remedy to Google’s abuse of its dominant position on the Android mobile platform”, he said.

Gabriel Weinberg, boss of Duckduckgo, said that while such a “ballet box” screen might be the right solution, Google’s design “will not meaningfully deliver consumer choice”.

Stephanie Whited, communications chief at Tor, a browser that promises anonymity online, warned: “The screen would definitely limit people’s options and perhaps mislead them into thinking those are the only choices.”

In April, following its record antitrust fine, Google said it would from next year offer Android users a choice of five search apps and five browsers.

Google declined to comment.