Overview
- The European Commission is examining whether Google's site reputation abuse rules push down pages that host sponsored or partner content, a practice publishers say cuts visibility and revenue.
- Officials stress the inquiry targets commercial third‑party content on news sites rather than general indexing or editorial reporting in Google Search.
- EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera says the concern is whether publishers are treated on fair, reasonable and non‑discriminatory terms, and the Commission is asking outlets to submit traffic and revenue evidence.
- Google calls the investigation misguided and without merit, arguing the policy fights 'parasite SEO' and citing a German court decision that upheld its anti‑spam approach.
- Under the DMA, violations can draw fines of up to 10% of global turnover and remedies including structural measures, while in a separate ad‑tech case Google has proposed product and interoperability changes after a €2.95 billion fine that the Commission is now assessing.