In September 2022 the project OpenWebSearch.eu has officially kicked-off: OpenWebSearch.EU is the first project the EU has funded to get tomorrow’s web search up and running.

The project has its origins in concerns over the imbalance of the search engine market. Despite being a backbone of our digital economy, web search is dominated and limited by a few gatekeepers like Google, Microsoft, Baidu or Yandex. Thus, information as public good, with free, unbiased and transparent access is not under public control anymore. This imbalance endangers democracy and limits the innovative potential of Europe’s research landscape and economy.

Since the project start in 2022, the researchers have been developing the core of a European Open Web Index (OWI) as a basis for a new Internet Search in Europe. In addition, the project sets the foundation for an open and extensible European open Web Search and Analysis Infrastructure (OWSAI), based on Europe’s values, principles, legislation and standards.