EU to probe Google for allegedly demoting news in search results

The European Commission has officially launched an investigation into Google for allegedly violating fair and non-discriminatory access rules for publishers' websites, Report's Brussels bureau informs.

EU representative Thomas Reiner announced in Brussels that the probe concerns potential breaches of the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The EU executive said Thursday it had found "indications" that news sites were being deprioritised in search listings when carrying promotional third-party content, a common practice for media companies.

Google claims this policy is aimed at combating "practices designed to manipulate search rankings." However, the Commission believes such actions directly affect a common and legitimate way for publishers to monetize their websites and content.

The European Commission will probe whether Google is unfairly demoting news sites in its search results as a result of a policy the tech giant says is designed to fight spam.