Can a small search engine challenge Google, perhaps taking advantage of the temporary moment of uncertainty dictated by the judgments coming from the European Commission? Qwant it is the David who challenges Goliath and, when in doubt, pulls out the sling and throws the first stone.
Qwant is a French roots search engine born on the basis of a principle: fully guarantee the privacy of users, thus distinguishing itself from the competition and presenting itself as the good side of online research. The chimera scent is clearly very strong, but the 25 million invested by the EIB just three years ago made it clear how the principle has its value and the engine (launched by Jean-Manuel Rozan and Eric Leandri) has its own motif. 'existence. The agreement with Fairphone in 2017 continues the same line as always, the landing in Italy in recent months expands the scope of the project and since the beginning of 2018 the service has also opened to China. Is this enough to challenge Google? I miss it for a dream. But Qwant is the flag that Europe needed to set new standards in an attempt to impose them on the domination of US giants.
Inevitably, Qwant's reaction to the European ruling is one of jubilation: “We are very pleased that the European Commission has understood how Google uses the dominant position of the Android operating system to prevent competition in the online search market. Now, we expect Google to fully respect the Commission's decision so that users, when they buy a mobile phone, are free to choose which search engine or browser they prefer to use ". This is the short-term goal: to have the opportunity to discuss with OEMs with equal dignity, putting their resources on the plate by playing on equal terms. And may the best win.
And to show that the little ones can also get together to cultivate big dreams, the collaboration agreement between Qwant and Vivaldi (software house founded by Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, former father of the Opera browser). Qwant now becomes the default search engine on the Vivaldi browser, thus building a partnership of mutual interest based on the commonality of the principles pursued. Europe intends to try to build a new business model based on a tighter control of privacy and in this attempt Vivaldi and Qwant represent the unsheathed tools.
This is not enough to scare Google and Android, just as a fine of over 4 billion dollars is not enough. But Qwant and Vivaldi are primarily used by Europe to give substance to their beliefs, to mirror themselves in their chimera in the hope of leading the whole world towards competitive and privacy standards different from those that cause scandals to emerge at an increasingly frequent rate.
Qwant: the alternative to Google that marries Vivaldi
