Google has announced it will modify its Search services across the European Union to avoid paying approximately €890 million (~$1 billion) in fines imposed by the European Commission earlier this summer. The original penalty was levied under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which prohibits dominant tech platforms from favoring their own services over third-party competitors in search rankings.
According to a Reuters report, the revised search results will feature a single specialized search engine at the top of the page, followed by two others with limited details. For instance, carousels displaying hotels, airlines, and restaurants will no longer include key features such as real-time pricing. This change prioritizes vertical search services like Expedia or Hotels.com over individual business websites.
Although the European Commission ordered Google to comply within 60 days, the company has not disclosed a specific timeline for when these changes will take effect. Google leadership has characterized the compliance measures as resulting in the largest decline in search quality in the company’s history. Nick Fox, Google’s senior vice president of knowledge and information, stated that the updates degrade the user experience for Europeans by boosting online intermediaries at the expense of local businesses and removing helpful daily features.
The company also cited data suggesting that previous DMA-related changes led to a 30 percent drop in free, direct booking traffic to European businesses, warning that further declines may occur with the new updates. Despite the changes, Google maintains that its algorithm will continue to determine rankings, preserving significant control over how results are displayed.
Thirty percent drop in direct bookings is terrifying for local shops. Google is essentially threatening to break the user experience if they don’t get their way.
Wait, so the EU wants fair competition but the result is worse search quality? The Commission needs to explain how this actually helps consumers.
I guess paying fines is cheaper than actually following the rules. This feels like a massive win for big aggregators, not small businesses.