Post by : Jyoti Gupta

Photo:AP

A government group in the UK is asking Google to make some changes so people have more choices when they search online. This group checks if big companies are too powerful, and they are now looking into how Google controls the online search market.

Right now, Google is used for more than 90% of online searches in the UK. Around 200,000 businesses also pay Google to show their ads to people. The UK group isn't saying Google did anything wrong yet, but they do have ideas on how Google could make things fairer.

One idea is to let users pick which search engine they want to use, instead of always being taken to Google. Another idea is to let website owners better understand and control how their content shows up in search results.

The group says this could help people find more options online and help businesses spend less on ads. They will decide what happens in October.

Google says these changes could hurt both businesses and users. They also say the UK might not get Google’s new features as fast in the future if too many rules are added.

Other companies were also asked how Google's search engine affects them. Some airlines said that changes in Europe sent customers to travel websites that didn’t always show the right prices. Other companies that sell adult products said Google’s filters made it hard for people to find their websites.

UK competition authority