EU Launches Fresh Probe into Alphabet’s Google Over News Search Rankings
The European Commission has initiated a new investigation into Alphabet's Google, focusing on alleged anti-competitive practices in news search rankings. The probe could result in fines up to 10% of global revenue, compounding the $11 billion in existing EU penalties.
Regulators claim Google's 'site reputation abuse policy' may be unfairly demoting news publishers hosting commercial partner content. While Google maintains the policy targets low-quality third-party content, the EU argues it undermines publishers' monetization capabilities.
The investigation further strains EU-US relations, occurring against the backdrop of ongoing tech sector tensions with the TRUMP administration. Market analysts suggest regulatory scrutiny of big tech could indirectly benefit decentralized web3 alternatives.