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The EU Probes Google’s Spam Policy Following Worries from the Search Behemoth Regarding Possible Damage to Millions of European Users

Here’s all the information from Google regarding its anti-spam regulations, currently under investigation by the European Union.

Key points to note

– The European Commission is assessing whether Google’s anti-spam regulations in Search breach the Digital Markets Act.
– Publishers have raised concerns with the EU that Google’s guidelines have led to reduced income, prompting the launch of an investigation.
– Google has stated that the investigation is “misguided” and poses a risk of harming millions of users across Europe.

On Thursday, Nov. 13, the European Union initiated an antitrust investigation into Google’s anti-spam regulations in Search, as reported by Reuters. This inquiry is part of the Digital Markets Act and follows complaints from publishers that the practices used by the search engine have resulted in diminished revenue. Conversely, Google asserts it is combating a strategy known as “parasite SEO” to enhance search results for its users.

“We are troubled that Google’s guidelines do not ensure that news publishers are treated fairly, reasonably, and without discrimination in its search results,” remarked Teresa Ribera, the EU’s antitrust chief, in a statement to Reuters. “We will probe to guarantee that news publishers are not missing out on crucial revenues during a challenging period for the industry and to ensure Google adheres to the Digital Markets Act (DMA).”

Google clarifies that parasite SEO, or site reputation abuse, endangers users and attempts to undermine the brand’s search algorithms. According to the company, spammers aim to publish content on well-regarded sites to achieve higher rankings in search results. This can lead to low-quality or fraudulent content being prioritized over more relevant results in Google Search.

“We have collaborated with the European Commission on a variety of initiatives to safeguard European consumers, including efforts to combat scams under the Digital Services Act. Unfortunately, the inquiry announced today concerning our anti-spam initiatives is misguided and poses a risk to millions of users in Europe. Additionally, the investigation lacks justification: a German court has previously dismissed a similar claim, ruling that our anti-spam policy was legitimate, reasonable, and applied uniformly.” – Pandu Nayak, Chief Scientist of Search at Google

The anti-spam regulations demote content that attempts to enhance its rankings by compensating brands or employing deceptive tactics, as outlined in a Google blog post. Google further asserts that these anti-spam strategies benefit websites that refrain from using misleading and “spammy” techniques. It ensures that parasite SEO outputs do not rank higher in search results than “websites competing fairly based on their original content.”

“Google’s anti-spam strategy is crucial to our efforts against deceptive pay-for-play tactics that undermine our results,” Nayak explains in the blog post. “Google Search is designed to display reliable outcomes, and we are extremely concerned about any initiatives that could diminish the quality of our results and impact how we rank websites.”

What is the plan moving forward?

The European Commission will now examine whether Google’s anti-spam regulations contravene the DMA. Breaches can be financially detrimental for major tech firms, as the EU may impose fines reaching up to 10% of their annual global revenue for violations.