Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 20, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Google suggests changes to its search results to better showcase rivals, aiming to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act and avoid potential fines.
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Alphabet's Google has proposed more changes to its search results to better showcase rivals in a bid to stave off a possible hefty EU antitrust fine, according to documents seen by Reuters.
Google's latest proposal came three months after the European Commission charged the U.S. tech giant with favouring its own services such as Google Shopping, Google Hotels and Google Flights over rivals in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The landmark DMA sets out a list of dos and don'ts for Big Tech aimed at reining in their power and giving rivals more room to compete and consumers more choices.
Under Google's new proposal a vertical search service (VSS) selected on objective and non-discriminatory criteria would get its own box at the top of the search page with the same format, information and features as Google's, the document said.
The box would contain three direct links picked by the VSS, to hotels, airlines, restaurants and transport.
Other VSS, which are specialised search engines within Google, would be ranked below but without a box unless users click on them.
"We do not agree with the (Commission's) preliminary findings' position but, on a without prejudice basis, we want to find a workable solution to resolve the present proceedings," the documents sent by both Google and the Commission to the rivals said.
The rivals will provide feedback at a July 8 meeting called by the Commission. A number of rivals, who did not want to be named ahead of the meeting, told Reuters that the changes still do not go far enough to ensure a level playing field.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Susan Fenton)
Google has proposed to showcase rivals more prominently in its search results by providing a dedicated box for vertical search services selected on objective criteria.
The changes are aimed at addressing concerns raised by the European Commission regarding Google's alleged favoritism towards its own services and to avoid a potential antitrust fine.
The European Commission has charged Google with favoring its own services and is overseeing the process to ensure compliance with the Digital Markets Act.
Under the new proposal, a vertical search service will have its own box at the top of the search page, containing three direct links to relevant services like hotels and airlines.
Some rivals have indicated that while they appreciate the changes, they still do not go far enough to ensure fair competition in the search market.
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