EU to Investigate Google for Reputation Abuse
▼ Summary
– The EU is preparing to investigate Alphabet (Google’s parent company) for allegedly demoting news publishers in search results if they host sponsored content.
– This probe will be conducted under the Digital Markets Act, which prohibits tech gatekeepers from unfairly penalizing other services.
– Google’s actions are based on a spam policy targeting “site reputation abuse,” where low-quality content is posted on trusted sites to manipulate rankings.
– Google states such content can mislead users and has taken manual enforcement against sites violating this policy.
– Violations of the DMA can result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s global annual revenue.
The European Union is preparing to launch a formal antitrust investigation into Google’s parent company, Alphabet, focusing on allegations that the search giant unfairly downgrades news publishers in search results when they feature sponsored or promotional content. This type of advertising represents a crucial income stream for numerous media organizations, making any potential suppression a significant concern for the industry.
The European Commission, which serves as the EU’s primary antitrust authority, is likely to announce the inquiry imminently, possibly as early as this Thursday. This new case will be conducted under the provisions of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), landmark legislation designed to prevent dominant technology “gatekeepers” from engaging in practices that unfairly disadvantage competing services or punish other businesses. Should a company be found in violation of the DMA, it could face substantial penalties, including fines of up to ten percent of its total worldwide annual revenue.
The core of the issue revolves around Google’s enforcement of a specific spam policy, first introduced in March 2024 and later revised in November of the same year. This policy targets what Google labels “site reputation abuse,” a practice more commonly referred to within the search engine optimization community as parasite SEO. This tactic involves third parties placing low-value, often promotional, material on established, reputable websites. The objective is to leverage the high trust and authority of these sites to artificially boost the visibility of the third-party content in Google’s search rankings.
Google has publicly defended its actions, stating that such content can be confusing or misleading for people using its search engine. The company has confirmed it has taken manual steps to penalize websites found to be hosting this kind of material. In a subsequent clarification to its policy, Google emphasized that even content published under the direct oversight of the website’s own team can be considered a violation. This is the case if the primary purpose of the content is not to serve the site’s audience but rather to strategically exploit the site’s strong search ranking signals for external gain. The impending investigation was initially reported by specialized media, though accessing the full details requires a registration process.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
