It's time to loosen Google's iron Grip on search

Whichever way this case goes, it's significant as a reminder that Google doesn't have to rule search, as well as an invitation to imagine and hope for a future where it doesn't.

Google has amassed over 90 percent of the global search market and has used its enormous financial clout to absolutely devour the digital landscape over the last two decades. It has also captured 65 percent of the global browser market, and nearly 75 percent of the global mobile OS market, with its search naturally set as the default.

This trifecta pulls billions of the world's citizens deep into a Google ecosystem that pairs a vast web of tracking technologies with meticulously engineered products designed to harvest and monetize troves of user data while leaving little room for viable alternatives.

Google's dominance in search is a special case that demands urgent attention because, at its core, it creates an insidious digital environment that hurts consumers by placing Google's profitability above all else. By positioning itself as a ubiquitous utility that is set by default in Chrome and Android, Google can invisibly harvest mountains of data from billions of people who are unaware that they have any other choice.

Google's market dominance stymies innovation in privacy-first search and browser technologies and prevents consumers from having the freedom to use the web on their own terms. You need look no further than our previous parent company, Cliqz, whose privacy-focused browser and search was shut down in large part because Google's grip on the industry is iron clad.

While we're a smaller company, Ghostery is committed to providing the world an alternative to Google that empowers users to search and browse the web on their own terms with complete control of their privacy.

Original article