Hadlee Simons / Android Authority
TL;DR
- The most popular search term on Bing is "Google," according to Google.
- The company uses this data to challenge the EU's landmark $5 billion fine handed down in 2018.
In 2018, the EU slapped Google with a landmark $5 billion fine for abusing Android's dominance, pushing OEMs to use its search engine on phones. It's still fighting to overturn this decision in court, and its latest rebuttal drags Microsoft's Bing into the conversation.
According to evidence presented by Google's lawyer in a Luxembourg court this week (via Bloomberg), consumers use rival search engines to access Google. The specific example provided was Bing. Google argues that "Google" is the most popular search term on Bing "by far" because consumers choose it over competing products, not because they're forced to.
"Google's market share in general search is consistent with consumer surveys showing that 95% of users prefer Google to rival search engines," the defense added.
EU regulators would argue that Google doesn't give rival search engines equal footing on Android, but it seems Google's understanding is that even when given a choice, consumers would still flock to its product. In 2018, Google also argued that Android couldn't be a monopoly as it competes with the likes of Apple in the smartphone market.
Google's currently juggling several antitrust and anticompetitive cases worldwide in addition to the 2018 ruling. In the US, the company faces a suit brought by 36 states for abusing its control of the Play Store. The EU Commission is reportedly investigating Google Assistant's dominance on Android phones, which could see it face yet another suit in the bloc.
