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DuckDuckGo CEO Calls for Easier Switching of Search Engines at Google Trial

By  |  September 24, 2023

As the Department of Justice continued its probe into Google’s alleged monopoly over the search engine market, one of its main competitors, DuckDuckGo, has voiced its struggles. Gabriel Weinberg, CEO of DuckDuckGo, highlighted the issues DuckDuckGo has faced due to Google’s default position as the primary search engine on computer platforms, both mobile and desktop: “Switching is way harder than it needs to be. There’s just too many steps.”

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    The legal battle and investigation into Google have held sway over the tech industry for months. The government claims that Google pays out over $10 billion annually to other tech companies, phone manufacturers, and wireless providers; and that these payments have unlawfully affected its monopoly of the search engine market.

    Weinberg expanded on the difficulties faced by those seeking DuckDuckGo’s alternative search engine: “You really have to know to go into a setting and to explicitly set it yourself.”

    Read more: DuckDuckGo Calls Out Google’s New Ad Retargeting Features

    According to a statement by Weinberg, a one-click option should be available for users to pick their browser of choice, and current methods of switching search engines are too complex. As the ongoing lawsuit moves ahead, DuckDuckGo is looking for more equality to compete in Google’s market.

    DuckDuckGo claims to providee greater protection against online tracking than Google, and is more transparent in its use of personal information. While the company has managed to carve out a niche among security-conscious web users over the last several years, Google’s apparent dominance of the search engine market has been a difficult barrier to the company’s further growth.

    Source: Live Mint