The European Union has initiated an investigation into Google’s search practices, scrutinizing whether the tech giant is unfairly demoting content from media publishers in its search results. The probe, announced by EU regulators on Thursday, centers on Google’s site reputation abuse policy, which the company claims is designed to combat scammers and deceptive content. However, the European Commission expressed concerns that this policy may be harming publishers by treating them in a discriminatory manner, potentially violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU’s comprehensive regulatory framework aimed at curbing monopolistic practices in digital markets. Teresa Ribera, an executive vice-president at the Commission, emphasized the need to ensure that publishers are not deprived of crucial revenues, especially during a challenging period for the industry. Google defended its policy, stating that it protects users from low-quality and fraudulent content. Pandu Nayak, Google Search’s chief scientist, argued that the investigation is misguided and could undermine efforts to maintain the integrity of search results. The EU’s move comes amid ongoing tensions with U.S. tech companies and follows a history of antitrust actions against Google, including a €2.95 billion fine in September for favoring its own advertising services. The new investigation, which must conclude within 12 months, could result in significant penalties for Google’s parent company, Alphabet, including fines of up to 10% of its global revenue or even the divestiture of parts of its business.
EU investigates Google over concerns content is unfairly demoted in search results
