Google Amends Spam Policy in Europe Amid Antitrust Concerns

Google has made changes to its spam policy in Europe to address concerns raised by the European Union about its impact on publishers. The US technology giant's policy targets the practice of publishing third-party pages on a website in an attempt to manipulate search rankings.

The EU had expressed concerns that Google's policy demoted websites and content from news media and other publishers in Google search results, particularly those that also feature commercial partner content.

Google said the change would take effect from August 30, exempting users in the 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein. The policy itself remains unchanged outside the European Economic Area.

The move follows an investigation by the European Commission under the Digital Markets Act, which seeks to curb the market power of major technology companies and establish rules for digital markets.