Google changes EU search policy to sidestep antitrust fine

Google has quietly overhauled how it displays search results across the European Union, making structural changes designed to head off what could have been a massive antitrust penalty from Brussels regulators. The move comes as the European Commission had been scrutinizing whether the tech giant was unfairly favoring its own services over competitors in search rankings.

What Google actually changed

The company confirmed it is adjusting how comparison shopping results appear on its EU search pages, giving rival price-comparison services more prominent placement alongside its own Google Shopping unit. Google Shopping has long been the flashpoint in its legal battles with EU regulators — the Commission slapped the company with a €2.42 billion fine back in 2017 over exactly this kind of favoritism. That ruling required changes, but critics argued Google’s fixes didn’t go far enough. So now the company is trying again, this time with a more sweeping overhaul it hopes will satisfy Brussels before another penalty lands.

Why the timing matters

The Digital Markets Act, which came into full force in March 2024, gave EU regulators sharper teeth than ever before. Under the DMA, companies designated as “gatekeepers” — and Google is firmly on that list — can face fines of up to 10% of global annual revenue for non-compliance. For Alphabet, Google’s parent company, that figure could exceed $30 billion. That’s not a number anyone on the executive floor is ignoring.

The urgency is real.

A senior EU competition official stated this week that the Commission “welcomes proactive steps by designated gatekeepers” but stressed that compliance would be measured against actual market outcomes, not just policy documents. In plain terms: it’s not enough to say you’ve changed things. You have to prove it’s working.

How rivals are reacting

Competitors aren’t exactly celebrating. Several comparison shopping operators across Europe say they’ve seen some traffic improvements but remain skeptical about whether the changes will hold or deliver meaningful results long-term. Idealo, a German price-comparison platform that has clashed with Google before, said publicly it was watching the rollout closely before drawing conclusions. And smaller operators worry that Google’s tweaks still leave the company with structural advantages that policy changes alone can’t neutralize.

What comes next

The European Commission isn’t done. Investigators are still examining Google’s conduct in other areas covered by the DMA, including how it handles search advertising and data from third-party services. The search policy change may buy some goodwill, but it won’t close the file. Regulators have made clear they plan to issue formal compliance assessments for all designated gatekeepers before the end of 2025, meaning Google has a relatively short window to demonstrate that its changes are more than cosmetic. Whether Brussels agrees that the company has done enough — or decides to reach for the penalty button anyway — could reshape how tech giants operate across the entire continent.