According to the agency, this was due to the fact that the restricted Google was forced to give users of smartphones with Android operating system in 23 EU countries the opportunity to use applications of other search engines.

According to statistics from the Android OS website cited by Bloomberg, Yandex was among the top five most popular search engines in Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Denmark and other countries.

As of August 25, the European Union has tightened controls on online platforms that officials consider to be "particularly large" as part of a new law on digital services. Now they include 19 services, including TikTok, Instagram (banned in Russia; owned by Meta Corporation, which is recognized as extremist in Russia), YouTube, Google and Amazon. The new legislation sets standards for the fight against hate speech, misinformation and counterfeiting on the Internet that all leading digital platforms will have to comply with. For noncompliance, the largest social networks face fines of up to 6% of global revenue.