Brussels – A new chapter in the tiring relationship between the European institutions and Alphabet Inc., the hi-tech giant that controls Google. After the almost 3 billion euros fine imposed in September, and the clash now at the EU Court of Justice for another maxi-fine of 4.1 billion that has dragged on since 2018, Brussels opens a new investigation to assess whether Google applies “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory” access conditions to publishers’ websites on Google Search.
Little by little, the European Commission is working to bring Google into compliance with the provisions of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This time, the EU executive’s monitoring work highlighted that the search engine, based on its “site reputation abuse policy,” is demoting websites and content from media and other publishers in Google’s search results when these websites include content from commercial partners. According to Google, this policy aims to counter practices that are allegedly meant to manipulate search result rankings.
“We will investigate to ensure that news publishers are not losing out on important revenues at a difficult time for the industry, and to ensure Google complies with the Digital Markets Act,” said Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice President of the European Commission. The Commission’s investigation focuses in particular on Google’s “site reputation abuse policy” and its application to publishers. A policy that – Brussels fears – “appears to have a direct impact” on a standard and legitimate way for publishers to monetise their websites and content. Alphabet’s demotion of publishers’ websites and content in Google search could ultimately affect “publishers’ freedom to conduct legitimate business, innovate, and cooperate with third-party content providers.”
Should the Commission find evidence of an actual breach of the DMA, it will inform Alphabet of its preliminary findings and outline the measures it intends to take, or that Alphabet itself should take, to close the case without consequences. In the event of an infringement, Brussels may impose a fine of up to 10 percent of the hi-tech giant’s total worldwide turnover, or up to 20 percent in the event of repeated violations, which would be the case here.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
