Qwant, DuckDuckGo and Ecosia today signed an open letter suggesting to the European legislator, 10 recommendations to apply the Digital Markets Act (DMA) fairly.
« This letter is a non-exhaustive list of recommendations to effectively implement the Digital Markets Act that will be in force from 2023. Our goal is to preserve the freedom of choice of Internet users. The implementation of these recommendations will allow them to choose their browser and search engine, from their first search, and will give them the opportunity to change them easily and regularly. This freedom of choice should be able to apply to all web services. With this letter, we wish to be in a constructive and collaborative approach vis-à-vis GAFA and our competitors. Qwant is at their disposal to facilitate reflection on these topics “, explains Corinne Lejbowicz, President of Qwant.
10 Principles for Fair Choice Screens on Smartphones and Effective Mechanisms for Switching Browsers and Search Engines
Preference menus and switching mechanics are essential tools that give users the power to choose and enable competition in search engine and browser markets. The European Union (EU) has taken an important first step by adopting the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which provides for the obligation to implement such tools. However, the effectiveness of EU mandates and related regulatory efforts around the world will depend on how gatekeepers implement the changes to comply with these new rules.
Without strict adherence to clear rules and principles regarding fair preference menus and effective switching mechanisms, gatekeepers could choose to circumvent their legal obligations. We suggest regulators make it clear that their app must adhere to the following ten essential principles for fair choice screens on smartphones and effective mechanisms for switching browsers and search engines.
1. Free : Any preference menu or other change mechanism should be free for participants.
2. Available as a primary setting: Preference menus should be available whenever users want to change, for example as a primary setting , and not just once when initializing the device.
3. Presented regularly to users: Preference menus should be presented to users regularly , for example during major operating system updates. The initial installation of the device is not the only time users feel like changing their main services, and major software updates can reset or affect the default settings of the search engine and browser set up by gatekeepers.
4. Effective through gatekeeper-controlled access points : user choice should apply to all gatekeeper-controlled access points. For example, for a search engine preference menu on a smartphone, the user should be able to choose all the predefined search entry points, at once, such as the search widget on the home screen, auxiliary search widgets, default browser, default wizard, etc.
5. No technical preference given to an application: the gatekeeper should not grant itself or any search engine or browser application, as a “system” status makes it impossible to uninstall. When the user deletes the default search or navigation application, the corresponding preference menu should appear.
6. Allow default failover of all applications and websites from other providers : Users should be able to change all gatekeeper-controlled access points with a single click, via a competing application or website. If an application provides both services (i.e. a browser and a search engine), the user must be able to change all default settings for both.
7. Seamless user testing for user-centric design : To ensure there are no pitfalls for users, third parties such as competitors and trusted consumer organizations should have the opportunity to test designs and provide feedback. In a collaborative and iterative process, their comments should be duly taken into account by the gatekeeper and, ultimately, by the regulator. The design of preference menus and switching mechanisms should facilitate clear choice and unfair attempts to guide consumer choices should be prohibited.
8. Functional eligibility criteria: The functional capability of an app should be the only eligibility criterion to be integrated into the preference menu process. For example, many search engine applications are also web browsers in their own right and operating a search engine should not prevent them from appearing on browser preference menus.
9. User Expected Choices : The list of options on preference menus should reflect the diversity of the market and be determined objectively with the best available and commonly accepted market share data. The most popular choices should be randomly displayed at the top of the list, ensuring that all the top choices the user expects are initially visible and then followed by the less popular choices arranged randomly.
10. Transparent dashboards for participants Data on the effectiveness of preference menus should be made available to attendees on a daily basis via a self-service dashboard where businesses can see how many impressions and selections have taken place, and more.
Gatekeepers should now roll out fair preference menus and switching mechanisms globally, applying these principles. We are ready to collaborate to this end, honoring users’ desire to choose the services they want to use and avoiding those choices being decided for them by default.
SIGNATORIES
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· Gabriel Weinberg, CEO, DuckDuckGo – https://duckduckgo.com
· Christian Kroll, CEO, Ecosia – https://www.ecosia.org/
· Corinne Lejbowicz, President, Qwant – https://www.qwant.com/
