EU Set to Rule Google Favored Own Search Services

European regulators are poised to rule that Google violated competition law by giving preferential placement to its own shopping, travel, and other specialized services over rival offerings in search results. The European Commission is expected to formally issue the decision next week under the Digital Markets Act, according to the Financial Times, which cited internal Commission documents and sources familiar with the matter.

At the heart of the case is how Google positions its own vertical search services compared to competitors. Since Google controls some of the most valuable commercial search real estate on the internet, any order requiring changes could reshape visibility for comparison sites, travel platforms, shopping services, and other businesses that rely on organic traffic to compete.

Why this matters for marketers and publishers. How Google treats its own services directly determines which businesses users see first during high-intent searches. If regulators force changes, it could open up new visibility opportunities across competitive commercial categories where rivals have struggled to gain traction.

The Commission is also expected to impose fines totaling hundreds of millions of euros across two separate DMA decisions. Google could face additional daily penalties if it fails to comply with certain parts of the orders within 60 days.

Another critical question involves search data access. The Commission will decide whether Google must provide third-party search engines with data on rankings, queries, clicks, and views. Google has pushed back, arguing that sharing such data would threaten user privacy and exceed the Commission’s legal authority.

The regulator is also weighing whether Google must extend the same features available to its Gemini AI to third-party AI providers, a move that could significantly alter the competitive dynamics in the AI search space.