Google changed EU Search results under the Digital Markets Act after a €460 million fine for favoring its own services. The redesign puts one specialized search engine first, two others next and hotel, airline and restaurant listings below, with real-time prices removed.
The €460 million fine, imposed in July, concerned Google search results in areas including shopping, hotels, transport and sports. The Commission gave Google 60 days to comply with the DMA or face periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of its total worldwide turnover. Google's algorithm determines the rankings, and the company says users outside the EU are unaffected.
Google calls this the biggest reduction in Search quality in its 29-year history. It says earlier DMA changes led to a 30% drop in free, direct booking traffic to European businesses, expects further effects from the latest changes, and found high dissatisfaction in tests with millions of European users. These are Google's claims; effects on Search use and Alphabet's finances remain undetermined. Separately, the EU imposed a €430 million July fine over Google Play restrictions that regulators said prevented developers from steering users free of charge to cheaper outside offers; Google says it updated its external offers program.
