EU Opens New Digital Markets Act Investigation into Alphabet's Google
By Edith Hancock
The European Commission opened a new investigation into Alphabet's Google over how the tech giant ranks news publishers in search results.
The commission said Thursday that it is concerned that Google might be demoting news media and other publishers' websites and content in search results when they include content from third-party commercial partners. The European Union's executive arm said Google's so-called site reputation abuse policy could impede publishers from legitimately making money online through third-party content.
The investigation is being opened under the Digital Markets Act. The DMA sets out obligations for tech giants that aim to make it easier for businesses that rely on their widely popular platforms-- such as search engines and app stores--to reach customers.
Companies can face fines of up to 10% of their annual worldwide turnover if the EU decides they are breaking the DMA.
Google said in a blog post Thursday that its ranking-related policy is essential to fight deceptive pay-for-play tactics, saying those practices degrade its own results.
"The investigation announced today into our anti-spam efforts is misguided and risks harming millions of European users," Pandu Nayak, chief scientist of Google Search, said in a blog post.
Write to Edith Hancock at edith.hancock@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 13, 2025 06:04 ET (11:04 GMT)
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