The European Parliament will reportedly stop using Google as the default search engine on its in-house computers, switching to French alternative Qwant as of June 4, according to Politico. Searches made via the address bar on Firefox and Edge will default to Qwant, though staff can still use other search engines or change their system defaults. An email to staff reportedly framed the move as being “in line with the Parliament's commitment to digital sovereignty and the protection of users' personal data,” describing Qwant as a “privacy-focused European search engine.” The shift comes as the EU works to reduce its reliance on foreign technology, with the European Commission expected to unveil a sovereignty package on June 3. France has been especially active, planning to move government workstations from Windows to Linux and to abandon Zoom and Microsoft Teams for homegrown alternative Visio.
