"Alternative Search Engines Decry Google’s Auction As Anticompetitive" (GOOG; EVIL)

As mentioned in Aug. 3's "What Alphabet Really Fears: Why Google Won't Make Google Search the Default in Android For Europe" the auction is at best a half-measure but viewed more realistically it isn't even that, just cover for Google's monopolistic ways.
As that piece goes on to explain, the answer is actually quite simple.
And the GOOG will fight it every inch of the way.

From PYMNTS.com:

Competing Search Engines Won’t Support Google’s Auction

Google is holding an auction for search engines to bid to be one of the default choices on Androids in Europe, but some search engines say the auction is unethical and anticompetitive and that they won’t participate, according to reports.

Ecosia, a search engine that dedicates most of its profits to planting trees, said it won’t take part in the auction and Google should stop its “damaging monopolistic behavior,” which it calls “unethical and anti-competitive.”

The German search engine said the auction is an “insult to the European Commission and to the principle of equality in front of the law,” and it limits the options for users.

“Alternative search engines that focus on privacy or specific causes are unlikely to be able to competitively bid in this suggested auction set-up,” Ecosia said. “Profit focused partners, many of whom have access to higher monetizing Google ads, automatically have better odds in this setup. This means that the competitors which are purpose-driven (and not solely profit orientated) are conveniently removed from the auction process.”

Google announced the auction in early August, and it will go into effect in 2020. When someone sets up a new Android, they’ll see a screen asking what default search engine they want to use. There will only be three alternative choices, and that’s part of the problem, according to Ecosia....

....MORE