Google challenges EU search rules, warns of impact on businesses

Google is pushing back against proposed European Union changes to its search results, warning that the measures could favour price comparison and specialised search sites over businesses.

The company said the proposed rules would give greater prominence to vertical search platforms such as Expedia and Booking.com, while businesses that rely mainly on their websites, phone numbers and addresses could receive less visibility.

Google said the changes would place specialised search services prominently in search results, followed by a carousel featuring hotels, airlines and restaurants without features such as real-time prices.

The proposals come after the European Commission fined Google 460 million euros in July for allegedly favouring its own services in shopping, hotel, transport and sports searches, in breach of the Digital Markets Act.

Google has argued that previous changes made to comply with the law had already caused a 30 percent decline in free, direct booking traffic to European businesses. It also said user testing showed significant dissatisfaction with the new search experience.

The company has accumulated more than 10 billion euros in EU antitrust fines over nearly two decades, with the penalties also drawing criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.