Google wants to avoid an EU antitrust fine by proposing changes to search results that highlight competitors
Records show that Google is considering altering its search algorithm to favor rivals and avoid an antitrust fine from the EU.
In an attempt to better highlight competing services and possibly evade a large European Union antitrust fine, Alphabet Inc.’s Google has submitted a fresh plan to alter its search results, according to papers obtained by Reuters.
Three months prior to this action, the European Commission accused the US tech giant of violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by giving preference to its own services over those of rivals, including Google Shopping, Google Hotels, and Google Flights.
The DMA is a comprehensive EU law intended to ensure that consumers have more options and smaller businesses have more equitable opportunities to compete by reducing the dominance of large tech companies.
Google recently proposed adding a separate box at the top of its search results for vertical search services (VSS) that have been approved, like those for restaurants, hotels, flights, and transportation. This box would be identical to those already used for Google’s own services in terms of format, features, and visibility. There would be no restrictions on the number of direct links that any VSS might use.
If visitors didn’t actively click to view them, other VSS would be lower on the page and wouldn’t have a noticeable box.
“We disagree with the Commission’s preliminary findings’ stance, but we wish to find a practical solution to end the current proceedings on a non-prejudice basis,” stated a joint statement given to competitors by Google and the Commission.
A comment session is set for July 8th, and the European Commission has invited the impacted companies to attend. However, other rivals, who spoke to Reuters under anonymity, questioned whether Google’s suggested adjustments would be helpful, claiming that they still wouldn’t provide a completely fair playing field.
