Google likely to change search results soon - due to looming EU DMA penalty

The EU Commission accuses Google's search engine of favoring its services in search results and thus disadvantaging competing offers. This primarily affects vertical search services, such as for hotels, flights, and restaurants. But now it is said that Google's parent company Alphabet is preparing corresponding changes to the search results to preempt a possible EU competition fine due to the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

So far, Alphabet is not satisfying the EU Commission, because, according to the guardians of the DMA, Google's search engine in the European Economic Area (EEA) continues to favor other Google services over third parties. Google Search would place its services more prominently in the results compared to competitors, such as Google Shopping, hotel bookings, or traffic services. The EU Commission considers this problematic, and it could violate the DMA.

Search results with higher-placed competition soon

But before the EU's investigation is concluded, Google plans to counteract. The company will soon test changes to search results to place competing offers more prominently. Reuters reports, citing a person familiar with the matter. According to this, high-ranking vertical search services such as hotel search engines and web portals will in the future be displayed by default alongside Google's own services.

Through the changes to the world's leading search engine, hotels, airlines, restaurants, and transport services with real-time data from data feeds will be displayed either below or above the list of vertical search services. This is to be introduced shortly within Europe, with the changes initially affecting the search for accommodation. Search results for flights and other services are to be changed later.

Fines as a delicate transatlantic political issue

With these measures, Alphabet could avoid a fine from the EU Commission. While its competition law investigation into Google Search has not yet been concluded, violations of the DMA could result in penalties of up to 10 percent of its global annual turnover. According to Reuters, the EU has already imposed fines totaling 9.71 billion euros on Google since 2017 for various antitrust violations.

This repeatedly leads to tensions between the USA and the EU, as US President Donald Trump sees the major big tech corporations as being unjustifiably hindered by EU laws such as the Digital Services Act (DSA). However, the trade dispute and the threat of higher tariffs are not stopping the EU from intensifying the enforcement of DSA and DMA this year. Even if further sanctions against US technology companies could lead to renewed conflicts with the US government.

(fds)