Google might reshuffle search results to try to dodge fines in the EU

Google is planning to test changes to how it displays search results for certain topics, nearly a year after it was charged with violating antitrust rules in the European Union, Reuters reports. The shift will show top-ranked rival services for hotels, flights, restaurants, and transportation higher up in results, rather than prioritizing Google’s own services like Google Flights. It will be rolling out soon “across Europe,” starting with results for lodgings, with “flights and other services” following later.

This update could address one of the core issues the European Commission highlighted when it ruled last year that Google was in violation of the Digital Markets Act, which aims to rein in anticompetitive practices by leading tech companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft. Companies that fail to comply with DMA regulations can face fines of up to 10 percent of their annual revenue.

Google initially pushed back against demands for it to rearrange search results, with Google’s head of competition, Oliver Bethell, claiming in a post on LinkedIn last year that early changes to search results forced European users to search longer and pay higher prices. However, Google could potentially face billions of dollars in fines if it doesn’t make adjustments to comply with the DMA.