Google will 'degrade' Search in Europe to avoid EU fines

EU users are welcome to look up the definition of "malicious compliance" on, say, DuckDuckGo. Google will ‘degrade’ Search in Europe to avoid EU fines. Big Tech Google Google will ‘degrade’ Search in Europe to avoid EU fines The company was accused of favoring its own content in search engine results.

The EU charged a fine of €460 million (~$534 million) on claims that Google had abused its dominance in search to prioritize the brand’s other services when displaying query results. That sanction was the latest salvo between the EU government and a US tech company for infringing on its Digital Markets Act. The debate centers on the DMA requirement that major tech brands "must not treat their own services more favorably in ranking than third-party services." Google first laid out some of its planned changes to its services in response to the Digital Markets Act in March 2024.

Later that month, though, the EC said it was investigating the company, as well as Apple and Meta, for continuing to favor their own services with practices such as putting Google Flights information above competitors in travel-related Google Search queries. A year later, the Commission charged its first fines to Google for the alleged self-preferencing. Reports in October 2025 suggested that Google had offered to make changes to how its search results were displayed to meet the bloc’s rules.

Google is (reluctantly) rewriting how Search works for some users. Google Search is being forced to change, and some users might feel the pinch.

These changes will allow results from rival vertical search services (like Expedia or Booking.com) to appear before Google’s own. Google says these changes will degrade the experience for European users.

After the European Union recently imposed a $1 billion fine on Google for allegedly violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Google is changing how Search works in the region. This changes how Google search results appear in EU countries, which, the company’s representatives say, could deteriorate the quality of results for people in the region.

Do you agree that Google favors its own services over others in Search. 121 votes Yes, it does 66 % Yes, but only because they’re the best 24 % No, I disagree 10 % Earlier today, Google confirmed to Reuters that it was implementing “significant changes to Search in Europe.” The changes appear to apply particularly when users search for services such as flights or hotels (also known as vertical search services or VSS), where Google will now be required to show results from its top competitors before serving its own Flights, Hotels, or other services.

According to Reuters, Google’s revised search results "will ​highlight one specialized search engine at the top of the page, followed by two others with fewer details.