Choosing a search engine or browser to look for information should be a personal choice. However many users have a hard time switching from the gatekeeper defaults.
In order to make other browsers more accessible to users the CEOs of DuckDuckGo and Ecosia, and Qwant’s President wrote an open letter to the companies, consumer organizations, and regulators that have the power to create effective user choice screens.
Open letter regarding the choice of browser services
According to spread privacy blog, The CEOs of DuckDuckGo and Ecosia posted a list of sensible guidelines online to enhance the customer experience. This letter is being issued when the European Parliament completes its approval of the EU’s Digital Markets Act, it said. This coincides with the penultimate adoption of the EU’s Digital Markets Act by the European Parliament this week
Firstly, Users are empowered by choice screens and efficient switching methods, which promote competition in search engine and browser marketplaces. The success of the EU’s directives for the Digital Markets Act and associated global regulatory initiatives will depend on how gatekeepers adapt to comply with these new regulations.
They recommended that regulators make it clear so that their enforcement abides by the ten key principles listed below for fair choice screens and efficient switching mechanisms.
- Free of charge
- Available as a prominent setting
- Periodically presented to users
- Effective across gatekeeper-controlled access points
- No technical preference is given to an app
- Enable all at once default switching from apps and websites to other providers
- Transparent user testing to achieve user and centric design
- Functional eligibility criteria
- User expected choices
- Transparent dashboards for participants
Lastly, “gatekeeping firms should globally roll out fare choice screens using these principles,” the letter said. The companies are ready to work collaboratively in order to let the users choose the browser services they want to use. What are your thoughts on this comment below?
