DuckDuckGo Urges EU to Expand Google Probes Over Compliance Issues

Privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo has called for the European Union to intensify its scrutiny of Alphabet’s Google, citing potential non-compliance with the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). The law, introduced in 2022, seeks to curb the dominance of Big Tech firms by enforcing measures such as ensuring users can easily switch to rival services and prohibiting practices that favor a company’s own products.

According to Reuters, Google is already under investigation by the European Commission for two potential DMA violations: one concerning its Google Play app store rules and another regarding alleged favoritism of its own services in search results. However, DuckDuckGo has urged the Commission to initiate three additional inquiries into Google’s practices.

Kamyl Bazbaz, vice president for communications at DuckDuckGo, argued that existing actions under the DMA have yet to bring meaningful change to the search market within the EU. “The DMA has yet to achieve its full potential, the search market in the EU has seen little movement, and we believe launching formal investigations is the only way to force Google into compliance,” Bazbaz stated in a blog post, as reported by Reuters.

Related: DuckDuckGo’s Bid for Apple Partnership Stymied by Google Contracts

DuckDuckGo, which holds a global market share of 0.54% as of January 2023 according to Statista, has raised specific concerns about Google’s proposal to license anonymized search data to competitors. Bazbaz criticized the approach as “overbroad and of little use,” alleging that Google is leveraging privacy as a pretext to sidestep its obligations under the DMA. “Google is trying to avoid its legal obligation in the name of privacy, which is ironic coming from the Internet’s biggest tracker,” Bazbaz added.

Additionally, Bazbaz pointed to Google’s alleged failure to make it easier for users to switch to competing search engines as another breach of DMA rules. Companies found in violation of the DMA could face fines of up to 10% of their global annual turnover, a substantial deterrent for tech giants.

Google, for its part, has reiterated its commitment to working within the DMA framework. The company has stated that it continues to develop solutions aimed at enhancing fairness and competition in digital markets.

Source: Reuters