Alphabet-owned Google has proposed changes to its search spam policies in an effort to avoid potential antitrust penalties from the European Union under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The move follows mounting complaints from publishers who argue that Google’s search ranking policies unfairly hurt their visibility and revenue streams.
At the center of the dispute is Google’s “site reputation abuse” policy, commonly referred to as measures against “parasite SEO.” The policy targets websites that publish third-party commercial content primarily to exploit the host site’s search ranking authority. Publishers, however, argue that the policy has negatively impacted legitimate monetization partnerships and reduced traffic to news and media websites.
The European Commission launched an investigation into the matter in November under the DMA, legislation designed to limit the market power of major technology companies. Regulators reportedly found that Google’s policies could demote publisher content in search results when websites host commercial partner material, potentially affecting a widely used revenue model in digital publishing.
According to documents reviewed by Reuters and Bloomberg, Google has now proposed modifications aimed at aligning its practices with EU regulations. Interested parties have reportedly been invited to provide feedback on the proposed changes before regulators decide on the next steps.
Google said it is “engaging constructively” with the European Commission and emphasized that its priority remains protecting users from deceptive search manipulation practices while maintaining useful and trustworthy search results.
The stakes are significant, as violations of the Digital Markets Act can result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s global annual revenue. Google has already faced billions of euros in EU antitrust penalties over the past decade related to search, Android, and advertising technology practices.
The latest dispute also highlights growing tensions between regulators, publishers, and major technology platforms over how AI-driven search systems, ranking algorithms, and content monetization models are reshaping the digital media ecosystem.
