EU Reportedly Investigating Google Over Alleged Demotion of News Publishers

Two unnamed officials told The Financial Times that the European Commission, the EU’s antitrust watchdog, is preparing to launch a new investigation into Google’s parent company, Alphabet.

Google is alleged to be in violation of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) because of how the tech giant ranks online news publishers in its search results, the Financial Times reported.

The probe centers on allegations that Google’s algorithms demote outlets that carry third-party promotional content, which includes sponsored editorial articles. However, many news outlets depend on such content to turn a profit.​

The DMA’s purpose is to rein in large online platforms that hold significant market power, including Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Amazon, ByteDance, Booking.com and Microsoft. The DMA requires these companies to avoid putting other businesses using their platforms at a disadvantage. If a company is found non-compliant, the commission can impose steep fines, potentially reaching up to 10% of their global turnover, according to the Financial Times.​

In April, the commission fined Meta €200 million (approximately $234 million) and Apple €500 million (about $585 million) for violating the DMA.

PYMNTS reported that Google was recently hit with a €2.95 billion fine by the commission for favoring its own advertising technology services.

In the U.S., President Donald Trump has threatened retaliatory tariffs over what he characterizes as EU taxation of American companies, heightening trade tensions with Europe.​

The European Commission is also conducting ongoing investigations of Google for additional potential breaches of the DMA. These include concerns that Google may favor its own services over competitors in its search engine rankings, and that it could be hindering developers trying to direct users to alternative offers outside its app store ecosystem. In 2018, Google was previously hit with a €4.12 billion fine for anti-competitive practices around its Android operating system.

Both the European Commission and Google declined to comment. However, the Financial Times said Google’s acknowledged some complaints about “parasite SEO” or “site reputation abuse,” where reputable publishers allow low-quality content on their sites. The company asserted that it enforces spam policies via “a careful review process” for affected publishers.