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by edogg 2062 days ago
It’s just the default - if another search engine is compelling people are free to switch
3 comments

If it doesn't matter that it's 'just the default' why is the DoJ so upset about Google paying to be the default?

You can't simultaneously argue that being the default is irrelevant and that it's bad to pay to be the default.

i'm not arguing that it's bad to pay to be the default. If the default service is worse than another people will switch to the other service. People install all kinds of apps on their phones, they can switch the default search engine too.
"just the default" seems to diminish the enormous importance of defaults.

changing "just the default" on organ donation to presumed consent w/ family veto, for instance, would essentially end all organ supply issues in the nation.

You are pedaling a fantasy that has been proven false by thousands of peer reviewed studies.
I would be interested in reading one of the studies in which the default was set to an inferior product and people stayed with the default despite there being a superior competitor and nearly zero effort required to switch.