Brussels to probe Google for allegedly demoting news in search results

The European Commission will probe whether Google is unfairly demoting news sites in its search results as a result of a policy the tech giant says is designed to fight spam.

The EU executive said Thursday it had found “indications” that news sites were being deprioritised in search listings when carrying promotional third-party content, something a Commission spokesperson described as a "legitimate commercial practice" for news organisations.

Google is suspected to have applied its policy in a “non-justified way” to news content, meaning "loss of revenue" and "loss of visibility" for media, the spokesperson added.

The tech company struck back later on Thursday with a statement in which its Chief Scientist for Search Pandu Nayak described the probe as "misguided and risking harming millions of European users."

The probe will be directed at Google’s US parent company Alphabet, and conducted under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a rulebook applied since 2023 and designed to address the market dominance of so-called digital gatekeepers.

If found in breach of the DMA's rules on ensuring fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory access for business users such as news publishers, Alphabet could be fined up to 10% of its annual worldwide turnover.

The opening of the investigation comes despite US President Donald Trump’s threats to punish countries imposing stringent digital regulations with further tariffs in a bid to shield American tech companies, and is seen as further proof that Brussels is moving ahead with its digital laws despite US pressure.

Alphabet already faces separate EU probes under the DMA over concerns that it is preferencing its own vertical search services over rivals and preventing app developers from easily steering consumers outside its app store.

Probe to focus on traditional over AI-powered search

This fresh probe is expected to focus on Google’s "site reputation abuse policy", first rolled out in March 2024.

It aims to tackle tactics in which websites host promotional content in a deliberate attempt to manipulate Google's ranking algorithm and work their way up search engine hits.

The probe will aim to determine whether this policy discriminates against established news companies, which often host paid promotional content.

A European Commission official, speaking on condition of anonymity on Thursday, said that the policy could even lead to websites being taken out of the Google Search index altogether, but would not be drawn on confirming whether there was evidence that news sites had been removed as a result.

Google, however, said its policy was needed to ensure a level playing field for websites and to tackle "deceptive tactics" used to "outrank websites" them.

"This surprising new investigation risks rewarding bad actors and degrading the quality of search results," the statement by Google's chief scientist for search Nayak reads.

"European users deserve better, and we’ll continue to defend the policies that let people trust the results they see in (Google) Search."

The company also says the probe is "without merit" as a German court has already dismissed a similar claim and ruled that the company's anti-spam policy was "valid, reasonable, and applied consistently."

The current case does not, however, address Google's AI-generated summaries, known as AI Overviews, which appear at the top of search results and are believed to have led to a sharp drop in search traffic for news sites.

Earlier this month, the Italian newspaper federation FIEG submitted a formal complaint to the national communications watchdog demanding a probe into AI Overviews' impact on its readership.

It's believed the investigation team will aim to understand in concrete terms how much of a dent Google's practices will cause to publishers' revenues.

The Commission's probe is expected to conclude within 12 months.