Google Forced To Change Android Search Preferences

Google has made changes to its Android Chrome app. It now prompts users to select a default search engine when it launches for the first time. The change has come about following an antitrust case in Russia, which Google lost. As part of the settlement with Russia's antimonopoly agency, FAS, the search engine has been forced to ensure that it is not forcing users of Android devices to use its site. The Russian search engine, Yandex, has responded to the change, saying that it was a “huge milestone”, before adding that it was something it had been working towards “for a long time”. Yandex added that it is “excited that Russian consumers can now easily choose their preferred search engine on their Android devices”. As part of the settlement, Google has also been forced to pay 7.8 million US dollars, and is now forbidden from forcing Android device manufacturers to make Google the only preinstalled search engine. 

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