(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, Nov 13 (KUNA) -- The European Commission announced on Thursday that it has formally opened an investigation to assess whether the US Company Google is complying with the obligation to provide fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory access to news publishers' websites through its search engine, as required under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA).
In a statement, the Commission said its monitoring activities had shown indications that Google had demoted news media and publishers' websites and content in its search results based on its so-called "site reputation abuse policy," particularly when those sites included commercial content from third-party partners.
Google justified this policy as a measure to counter practices allegedly aimed at manipulating website rankings in search results.
However, the Commission noted that this policy appears to directly affect a legitimate and common way for publishers to monetize their websites and content.
The investigation will specifically examine how Alphabet, Google's parent company, applies this policy and whether it negatively impacts publishers' freedom to conduct legitimate business, innovate, and cooperate with third-party content providers.
The Commission stressed that the opening of proceedings does not imply any prior finding of non-compliance, but rather indicates that the case will undergo further examination.
Commenting on the decision, EU Commissioner for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition Teresa Ribera said, "Today we are taking action to ensure that digital gatekeepers do not unfairly restrict businesses that rely on them from promoting their own products and services. We are concerned that Google's policies do not allow news publishers to be treated in a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory manner in its search results."
Ribera added that the Commission "will investigate to ensure that news publishers are not losing out on important revenues at a difficult time for the industry, and to ensure Google complies with the Digital Markets Act".
For its part, Google strongly criticized what it called a "misguided" investigation, describing it as "without merit" and defending its search policies as necessary to protect users from spam and unreliable content.
The Commission said it aims to conclude the investigation within 12 months from the date of initiation, noting that if a breach is confirmed, fines of up to 10 percent of the company's total global turnover could be imposed, rising to 20 percent in cases of repeated infringement. In cases of systematic violations, the Commission may also require the company to sell part of its operations or prohibit it from acquiring additional services linked to repeated non-compliance.
The European Commission designated Google Search as a "core platform service" under the DMA on September 6, 2023, requiring full compliance with all obligations of the Act by March 7, 2024.
The launch of today's proceedings follows concerns that Alphabet may not be complying with Articles 6(12) and 6(5) of the DMA, which require transparent, fair and non-discriminatory conditions in Google Search's ranking system. (end)
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