Overview
- EU monitors say Google lowers the visibility of news and other publisher pages when they host sponsored or partner content, potentially curbing a common monetisation model.
- Antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the concern is whether publishers receive fair, reasonable and non‑discriminatory treatment in search results.
- Google called the case misguided, arguing its anti‑spam policy protects users and citing a German court ruling that dismissed a similar complaint.
- The investigation focuses on how the policy is applied to publishers rather than questioning anti‑spam measures overall, and DMA breaches can draw fines up to 10% of global turnover, rising to 20% for repeat offenses.
- Complaints from ActMeraki and European publisher groups prompted the probe, which comes as Google faces broader EU scrutiny including a €2.95 billion fine in September and other ongoing DMA cases.