Overview
- The European Commission launched formal proceedings to examine how Google’s ranking and spam‑filter rules affect access for media sites in search results.
- The inquiry centers on Google’s “Site Reputation Abuse” policy, which may downgrade publisher pages that host paid third‑party material.
- EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said investigators will assess whether news outlets are losing crucial revenue in a fragile market.
- Officials aim to conclude the probe within 12 months and emphasized that opening the case does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing.
- If breaches are established, penalties could reach 10% of global turnover, up to 20% for repeat offenses, with potential remedies under the Digital Markets Act, while Google defends the rules as essential to stop ranking manipulation and calls the probe misguided.