French search engines becomes the default. It’s about technological sovereignty and reducing dependence on US digital platforms.
It’s almost automatic: to search in a search engine, you open Google. But this Thursday it stopped being like that.
O European Parliament replaced the search engine Google by French Qwant as a default option in the browsers used by its services.
It is a decision that reinforces the European strategy of technological sovereignty e reduced dependence on North American digital platforms.
The change has already come into force and will cover the Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox browsers used by the institution.
Although Qwant will become the default search tool, users will still be able to to choose other search engines, explains the agency.
According to European Parliament officials, the measure integrates a broader set of initiatives aimed at reducing dependence on digital solutions developed outside the European Union and promoting European services focused on protecting users’ privacy.
Brussels seeks to assert greater strategic autonomy in the technological field. The European Commission is preparing to present new measures related to sectors considered critical, such as semiconductors, computing services in cloud ea artificial intelligence, framed in the strategy “Buy and Use European”.
Created in France, Qwant has sought to position itself as a European alternative to North American technological giants, standing out for its defending privacy and limiting the collection of personal data for advertising purposes.
Its adoption by the European Parliament represents an important political signal of support for the development of digital solutions produced in Europe.
The change will have an impact on 720 MEPs and thousands of advisors and employees administrative staff who work daily at the institution.
More than a simple technical change, the initiative is seen as a symbolic gesture of the growing European concern with digital autonomy, at a time when community institutions seek to reinforce their ability to control infrastructures, data and services considered strategic for the economic and political future of the European Union.
