Google adjusts its internet search to comply with the stricter requirements of the European Commission (EC). This was announced in a blog post by the company on Tuesday.
As part of the European Digital Markets Act (DMA), which comes into effect on March 7th, Google will be required to display search results from specialized search engines in more detail. This applies, for example, to comparison portals for flights, hotels, or shopping offers.
To meet these requirements, Google will now give price comparison sites more prominent placement and remove certain in-house features that helped consumers find businesses directly. An example is the flight search, which will no longer be given preferential treatment.
Instead, information from specialized search engines is to be displayed in so-called carousel galleries when they are relevant to the search query. A mix of various services can also be created in a version of this feature for specific requests, for instance, when searching for restaurants in Paris. Here, data from Google is displayed on an equal footing with data from other sources, regardless of the location from which the search was initiated.
In accordance with the strict requirements of the DMA, Google is no longer allowed to favor its own services. Google Search is one of the 22 services that the EU Commission has identified as "gatekeepers." These are companies that inhibit competition through their size and market power. The new law aims to enable more competition.
Over the past few years, Google has regularly received criticism from other search engines because the company often tries to provide direct answers to search queries. This was perceived as unfair competition. Google has always argued that the service is made for users, not for other search engines.
In comparison to Google, Apple has to make larger changes in the course of the DMA. Up to now, it was already possible to download apps from various marketplaces and use alternative payment providers on Android devices. However, only apps from the official App Store could be downloaded on iPhones. With the DMA, Apple will be forced to relax its policies, although the company cites concerns regarding potentially fraudulent apps.
