Google Rolls Out EU-Compliant Search Changes Amid Antitrust Scrutiny
Google has implemented changes to its search algorithm for European users, affecting around 450 million people. The move is in compliance with the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to prevent 'gatekeepers' like Google from favoring their own services in search results.
The regulations took effect in 2024, and this latest change follows a €460 million antitrust fine imposed on Google in July 2026 for self-preferencing violations. Google's Senior Vice President for Knowledge and Information, Nick Fox, described the changes as the largest reduction in search quality in the company's history.
The updated algorithm will now treat Google's specialized services, such as Shopping and Maps, as equals to any other site. This means that rival search engines may appear at the top of results where Google's own services previously dominated. The business cost is estimated to be significant, with a 30 percent decline in direct booking traffic to European hotels and service businesses expected to compound.
The Commission has not accepted Google's framing of these changes as degrading their product, instead viewing them as correcting years of self-preferencing that suppressed competitors and diverted traffic to Google's own services. The cumulative total of EU antitrust fines against Google now stands at €10.38 billion over two decades.