Rival search engines won’t have to pay Google to be Android default, but only in EU

Pushback from European antitrust regulators has led Google to make a pretty significant change to how Search works on Android smartphones. The company said that it will stop charging rival Search platforms for becoming the default on Android devices, but only in Europe right now. “We have been in constructive discussions with the European Commission for many years about how to promote even more choice on Android devices, while ensuring that we can continue to invest in, and provide, the Android platform for free for the long term,” Google said in a blog post.