The EU suspects Google of treating media sites unfairly in search results and harming revenue. A procedure intended to clarify whether the internet giant violated EU digital law.
The European Union suspects American internet giant Google of unlawfully discriminating against media and publishing websites in its search results. Therefore, the responsible European Commission is starting the process, as it announced. Specifically, it is about Google’s policy that states that media content may be devalued in search results if their website contains certain commercial content from third parties.
“Ensuring News Publishers Don’t Lose Revenue”
Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera said: “We are concerned that Google’s policies result in news publishers not being treated fairly, appropriately and without discrimination in search results.” This will be examined to ensure that news publishers do not lose out on vital revenue at a difficult time for the industry.
Specifically, the Commission wants to see whether “Google implements fair, appropriate and non-discriminatory access provisions for publisher websites on Google search.” The US giant is obliged to do this in accordance with EU digital law (Digital Markets Act, DMA).
Google’s policies have the potential to impact legitimate commerce
The monitoring revealed indications that Google’s policies regarding abuse of website reputation may be affecting common and legal ways for publishers to make money from their websites and content. According to Google, the policy is intended to prevent practices aimed at manipulating rankings.
The Commission now wants to see whether the downgrading of publishing content by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, impacts publishers’ entrepreneurial freedom, their innovative power and their collaboration with third-party providers.
The EU Commission has repeatedly punished Google
Initiation of the procedure does not constitute evidence of a violation, authorities stressed. The commission wants to complete the investigation within twelve months. In the event of a violation, there is a risk of fines of up to ten percent of global annual turnover, and repeat violations of up to 20 percent. In serious cases, authorities may also order structural measures such as the separation of the company.
The EU Commission has imposed several competition sanctions against Google and Alphabet since 2018, totaling around eight billion euros. The highest fine to date is four billion euros for businesses with Google’s Android operating system.
