Is Google Rigging Search? EU’s Preliminary Findings Are In

The European Commission claims that Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has breached the Digital Markets Act. The specific allegation is that Google is self-preferencing on Search and the Play Store.

The DMA applies to “gatekeeper” organisations that have a major economic impact in the EU (at least €7.5 billion in annual revenue in the EU per year for the last three fiscal years) and have more than 45 million monthly active users in the E.U., or more than 10,000 yearly active business users for at least three fiscal years.

SEE: Advocacy Groups Criticise European Commission for Weak Regulation of Apple, Google

Google’s under scrutiny for Search and Play Store practices

The European Commission has published preliminary findings on Alphabet and how it could be preventing competition. The concerns relate to two issues: self-preferencing in Google Search and “steering rules” in Google Play; these issues were looked into as part of a non-compliance investigation opened in March 2024.

The DMA bans self-preferencing, which is when a dominant platform favours its own products or services over those of competitors. The Commission believes the way Alphabet presents Google Search results may steer customers toward Google services, such as Shopping, Flights, or Hotels.

Secondly, the Commission argues that the Play Store, Google’s mobile app marketplace, prevents app developers from directing consumers to alternative purchasing channels, such as their own website or third-party app stores. This limits their ability to offer better deals outside of Google’s platform.

Google has made a series of changes in the last year to comply with the DMA, such as temporarily removing some Search Widgets and rejigging the layout of Search results, but the Commission has determined that these steps are insufficient.

What are possible consequences of the EU’s ruling?

Note that these findings are preliminary, and Alphabet has the opportunity to respond in writing; however, if they are confirmed, the Commission will adopt a non-compliance decision as it has now done with Apple, which could lead to fines or other penalties.

Fines for noncompliance with the DMA can be up to 10% of the company’s total worldwide turnover, rising to 20% in cases of repeated infringement.

In a blog post, Google’s senior director for competition Oliver Bethell said the changes the Commission wants will “hurt European businesses and consumers, hinder innovation, weaken security, and degrade product quality.”