European Commission investigates whether Alphabet harmed vehicles that publish sponsored content on their websites
The EC (European Commission) is preparing an investigation into Alphabet, Google’s parent company, for alleged disadvantages imposed on media outlets in search results.
As reported on Wednesday (12.Nov.2025) by , two authorities reported that the EC will analyze accusations that Alphabet demoted websites that publish third-party promotional content, such as sponsored articles. The measure is considered a central part of the business model of some media groups and a relevant source of revenue.
The investigation must be conducted in accordance with the DMA (Digital Markets Act), legislation created to limit the power of large digital platforms and prevent practices considered discriminatory against companies that depend on these services. In case of non-compliance, the DMA determines fines of up to 10% of the company’s global revenue.
According to the Financial Timesthe initiative indicates that the EU (European Union) will continue to impose the DMA, even in the face of the risk of retaliation from the United States government, led by Donald Trump (Republican Party). The Republican criticizes penalties applied to North American companies and describes them as “form of taxation”.
Google already faces other investigations based on EU law, such as suspicions of favoring its own services in the search engine and making it difficult for developers to direct consumers to offers outside the company’s app store. The new investigation was announced 2 months after the EC allocated 2.95 billion euros to search advertising practices. In 2018, the company fined more than 4 billion euros for using the Android operating system to harm rivals.
In 2019, the company received 1.49 billion euros for abusing its dominant position in the online advertising market.
The European Commission has not commented on the current investigation. Alphabet says users report practices like “parasite SEO” or “site reputation abuse”when recognized sites allow the publication of low-quality material. It also adds to following anti-spam policies, with a review and reconsideration process defined for those responsible for affected pages.
