Google to revise European content ranking policy after EU scrutiny

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, announced on Friday it will revise its policy on unwanted content in Europe in response to European Union concerns that could result in fines under antitrust laws.

The company faced regulatory scrutiny after complaints from publishers about its policy targeting so-called 'site reputation abuse', which penalizes websites hosting third-party pages to manipulate search rankings—a practice known as parasitic search engine optimization.

The EU said its monitoring found that Google's policy had lowered the rankings of media outlets and other publishers when their sites included content from business partners. Google confirmed that, starting August 30, it will no longer deliberately demote such sites for users in the 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, which make up the European Economic Area.

Google noted that the policy will remain unchanged outside the European Economic Area. European Commission spokesperson Thomas Renier welcomed the policy reversal, stating it had unfairly harmed publishers and other businesses.

These concerns prompted the European Commission to launch an investigation under the Digital Markets Act, which aims to curb the power of major tech firms. Renier said that thanks to the new law, Google Search will not demote news publications simply for hosting third-party content, and the Commission will monitor the new policy's implementation to ensure compliance. Violations of the Digital Markets Act could result in fines of up to 10% of a company's total annual global revenue.