A PYMNTS Company

Polish Regulator Opens Antitrust Probe Into Google’s Publisher Payment Talks

By  |  October 5, 2026
Google search

Poland’s competition watchdog is investigating Alphabet Inc.’s Google over allegations that the technology company abused its dominant market position in negotiations over payments to Polish news publishers, adding to regulatory pressure on the company in Europe.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    Subscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, known as UOKiK, said it suspects Google failed to provide publishers with information needed to evaluate proposed compensation for news content appearing through services including Google Search, Google News and Discover, according to BigGo Finance’s report. The regulator contends that the lack of information put publishers at a disadvantage and prevented them from negotiating on equal terms.

    UOKiK President Tomasz Chrostny said technology companies must comply with applicable law and argued that withholding necessary data undermined meaningful negotiations, according to the report. The regulator’s statement identified Alphabet, Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited and Google Poland in connection with the proceedings. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment cited by BigGo Finance.

    We’d love to be your preferred source for news.

    Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!

    Add as Preferred Source

    The investigation centers on rules introduced through a 2024 amendment to Poland’s copyright law implementing a European Union directive governing publishers’ rights. The framework requires online platforms to negotiate compensation with press publishers when using their protected content, according to BigGo Finance.

    Related: US Judge Dismisses Publisher Antitrust Cases Against Google Over AI Search

    Google could face a penalty of as much as 10% of annual turnover if Polish authorities ultimately determine that it abused a dominant market position, the report said. UOKiK has not announced a timetable for completing the investigation and plans to continue gathering evidence before deciding whether its preliminary concerns warrant formal charges.

    The Polish proceedings are separate from an investigation opened by the European Commission in December 2025 into Google’s treatment of publisher material in its artificial-intelligence services. That inquiry is examining whether the company used publishers’ content without sufficient compensation or an effective way for publishers to opt out, according to BigGo Finance.

    Google is already confronting broader competition scrutiny in Poland. In December 2024, price-comparison service Ceneo, owned by Polish e-commerce company Allegro, sued Alphabet for 2.33 billion zlotys, or about $568 million, alleging anticompetitive conduct, BigGo Finance reported. That litigation is separate from UOKiK’s latest investigation.

    Source: BigGo Finance