DMA: DuckDuckGo complains about Google

The search engine operator DuckDuckGo is calling on the EU Commission to launch a further formal investigation into Google.

A barrier with the Google logo.

(Image: DuckDuckGo Blogbeitrag)

Nov 21, 2024 at 9:05 pm CET

3 min. read

By

Eva-Maria Weiß

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) obliges large tech companies to further open up their platforms to the market and thus also to competitors. DuckDuckGo believes that Google is not doing this sufficiently and is calling on the EU Commission to initiate further formal investigations. The Commission has already launched a number of investigations, as the search engine is by no means the only critic of the practices of Google, Meta, Apple and others.

DuckDuckGo's Head of Communications Kamyl Bazbaz writes in a blog post that Google is not complying with the DMA in at least three cases that have not yet been investigated. This concerns the obligation to provide anonymized search data. Bazbaz also believes that it is still not easy enough to change the default search engine and browser.

Since by far the most search queries are made via Google, the DMA sees this as an advantage of scale, which leads to Google having to share data. Google has therefore established the European Search Dataset Licensing Program. However, according to DuckDuckGo, the data it contains is not usable because Google has introduced so many exceptions. Google invokes data protection, which the complainant describes as ridiculous, given that this justification comes from Google, the "largest Internet tracker" in the world. DuckDuckGo believes that there are enough ways to protect people sufficiently and explains these in the blog post.

Difficult to change search engine and browser

The DMA also calls for it to be made easy for people to switch search engines, virtual assistants and browsers. According to DuckDuckGo, it is still not easy to change the default search engine on an Android device. It takes 15 steps to do this. It is also complicated to change the default search when using Chrome. DuckDuckGo says the easy change required in the DMA is one click, and not what Google is offering.

The search engine operator and Google have been at loggerheads for some time over the selection of a default search engine. Google has already had to pay a fine of more than four billion euros because the discontinuation of the default search on Android devices was seen as an exploitation of its own dominant market position. Since 2020, buyers of Android devices have therefore been able to select the default search engine with just one click, at least when setting up the device.

There is also criticism that Google has not yet made the selection screen, which is adapted to the one click and the DMA, available to all users. Even Apple, which is also in talks with the EU Commission regarding the implementation of the requirements, would have already allowed everyone to reselect the browser. Google has only made this possible for Chrome on the desktop – which, according to DuckDuckGo, has led to 75 percent more search queries in the European Economic Area.

DuckDuckGo is therefore calling on the EU Commission to take action. A formal investigation is the first step. Google then has the opportunity to explain itself and make changes.