Google Changes Search Results In The EU After €460M Fine, Calls It A Quality Hit

The company's exact words were "the changes mark the largest reduction in quality of service at the world's most popular internet search engine in its 29-year search history". Very subtle, no?

Google was required to comply with the DMA (Digital Markets Act) after getting called out for favoring its own services in search results, and when you're a massive company like Google, there will be fines. €460 million ($534 million) to be exact.

What's Changing?

The format.

There'll be one specialized search engine (e.g., Booking.com) at the top of the page, and two others with fewer details. Below them, the usual carousel with hotels, airlines, and restaurants, but real-time prices, Google Flights, hotel booking links, and other product comparison features have been removed to create more space for competitor links.

The changes affect just EU users (450+ million people). Users outside the bloc are fine. Well, for now.

Both Sides Argue

Google says the changes will degrade user experience by "removing helpful features people rely on every day". They also added that internal testing with millions of users showed high levels of dissatisfaction, with users often retyping queries to find info.

Costs for European businesses will also increase. The company claims past changes to comply with the DMA led to a 30% drop in free, direct booking traffic to European businesses, and the new changes are expected to hit them further.

EU regulators argue that the rules are designed to level the playing field so Google doesn't use its dominance in search to favor its services over competitors. They're aware that the changes make some searches less convenient, but they add that the DMA's intent is to create a more open digital market for third parties.

So?

There you have it, folks. Google and the EU have been going at it for nearly two decades now, with over €10 billion in antitrust fines. This is just the latest round, this time ending with big changes. Don't go too far. We'll be back soon for the next round.