Google offers to tweak search results to promote rivals, stave off EU antitrust fine, documents show

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.