EU Probes Google Over Alleged Bias Against News Publishers

The European Union Commission announced it has launched an investigation to determine if Google’s search results illegally disadvantaged media and news publishers.

The EU’s executive arm said the probe was launched to assess whether the U.S. tech giant applied “fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory conditions” to publishers’ websites on Google Search.

This, as required under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The case specifically concerns a Google policy under which content from publishers may be demoted in search results if their websites include certain commercial content from third parties.

The inquiry will examine whether the actions restricted publishers’ ability to conduct legitimate business, innovate, and cooperate with third-party content providers,” a commission statement said.

“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.”

European Commission Vice President, Teresa Ribera, said in a statement.

“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.”

The commission emphasised that the opening of proceedings did not indicate a finding of wrongdoing and aims to conclude the investigation within 12 months.