The European Parliament will stop using Google as the default search engine on its in-house computers, shifting to the French search engine Quant by default on June 4, accoring to Politico. The change aims to reduce the EU’s dependency on foreign technology. Users can still select different search engines or alter default settings on their systems.
This decision was communicated to staff in an email, which stated the shift aligns with the Parliament’s commitment to digital sovereignty and the protection of users’ personal data. The email referred to Quant as a “privacy-focused European search engine.”
The move is part of a broader EU initiative to promote European alternatives and decrease reliance on American tech. The European Commission is expected to announce a sovereignty package on June 3 to further these objectives. Additionally, France is transitioning its government workstations from Windows to Linux and replacing Zoom and Microsoft Teams with the domestic tool Visio.
DuckDuckGo has also reported increased interest as users seek alternatives to Google. The company stated it achieved a single-day record for search traffic on June 1, coinciding with growing concerns about Google’s integration of generative AI into search functionalities.
