EU investigates Google over alleged unfair demotion of publisher content in search results

New Delhi: The European Union on Thursday launched a formal investigation into whether Google is unfairly demoting content from media publishers in search results under its anti-spam policy, prompting a sharp pushback from the company, which says the probe threatens the quality of search for millions of users.

The European Commission said it is examining whether Google’s “site reputation abuse” rules, introduced in March 2024, are hurting publishers by lowering the visibility of some of their content. 

The policy targets what Google calls “parasite SEO”, where third parties pay publishers to host low-quality or misleading material in order to benefit from their search rankings.

“We are concerned that Google’s policies do not allow news publishers to be treated in a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory manner in its search results,” Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president at the Commission, told AP. 

“We will investigate to ensure that news publishers are not losing out on important revenues at a difficult time for the industry, and to ensure Google complies with the Digital Markets Act,” she added, referring to the EU’s sweeping rulebook meant to stop dominant tech companies from abusing their market power. 

The Commission said it has received indications that Google is demoting certain search results under the anti-spam policy. Regulators argue that the rules may interfere with “a common and legitimate way for publishers to monetise their websites and content”.

The investigation is the latest front in Brussels’ long-running confrontation with Big Tech. It comes weeks after the EU imposed a €2.95 billion fine on Google for breaking competition rules, the fourth multibillion-euro penalty against the company since 2017. 

The probe also moves ahead despite the risk of political backlash from the U.S. President Donald Trump, who has criticised the EU’s digital regulations and warned of retaliatory action if American firms are targeted. 

Google defends policy, says probe threatens search quality

Google hit back strongly at the Commission’s decision, saying its anti-spam measures protect users from deceptive online behaviour and maintain the reliability of search results. Pandu Nayak, Google Search’s chief scientist, said the EU’s move was unfounded.

“People come to Google because they want the best, most relevant results, and they don’t want to sift through spam,” the company said in a blog post explaining the policy. “Google Search’s policy against spam exists for one reason: to protect people from deceptive, low-quality content and scams and the shady tactics that promote them.”

 “Unfortunately, the investigation announced today into our anti-spam efforts is misguided and risks harming millions of European users,” he wrote. “And the investigation is without merit: a German court has already dismissed a similar claim, ruling that our anti-spam policy was valid, reasonable, and applied consistently.”

Nayak said Google updated its policy last year because users were increasingly encountering spammy results driven by “parasite SEO”, where a scammer pays a trusted website to host content that appears legitimate but directs users to low-quality or fraudulent offers.

“For example, a scammy payday loan site might pay a respected website to publish its content, including links to its offerings,” Google explained. “We consider this to be spam, because both our users and our systems think they’re dealing with a trusted website, when in reality they’re dealing with a scammer.”

The company argued that letting such tactics continue “would enable bad actors to displace sites that don’t use those spammy tactics, and it would degrade Search for everyone”. Google said it enforces the rules through a “fair and rigorous review process”, including the option to appeal.

It also warned that the EU’s Digital Markets Act is already making Search “less helpful for European businesses and users”. “This surprising new investigation risks rewarding bad actors and degrading the quality of search results,” Nayak said.

“European users deserve better, and we’ll continue to defend the policies that let people trust the results they see in Search.” High stakes for both sides The Commission now has up to 12 months to complete its investigation.

Under the DMA, it can impose penalties of up to 10% of a company’s global annual revenue and more for repeat violations. It also has the power to order structural remedies, including breaking up parts of a business, if it finds systemic breaches.

For publishers, the case comes at a time when declining advertising revenues and rising production costs have intensified pressure across the media industry. Regulators say any unfair demotion of content could further undermine their financial stability.

For Google, the case tests the boundaries of how far EU regulators can intervene in ranking algorithms that determine what users see online. The company argues that interfering with such policies could weaken efforts to curb scams and manipulation.