Google Changes EU Spam Policy to Avert Antitrust Fine under Digital Markets Act

Google has revised its spam policy in Europe to address EU concerns over its "site reputation abuse" policy, which demoted publishers' websites in search results, a move that could avert a potential antitrust fine under the Digital Markets Act.

Google has changed its spam policy in Europe to address concerns raised by EU regulators, a move that could help the tech giant avoid a potentially massive antitrust fine. The policy change, announced on August 27, 2026, comes after publishers complained that Google's "site reputation abuse" policy unfairly demoted their websites in search results when they hosted content from commercial partners.

The European Commission had opened an investigation under the Digital Markets Act, which aims to rein in the power of Big Tech. Breaches of the DMA can result in fines of up to 10% of a company's global annual turnover. Google has proposed changes to comply with the DMA, according to a European Commission document.

The New Policy

The controversy centered around Google's "site reputation abuse" policy, which targets the practice of publishing third-party pages on a site to exploit the host site's ranking signals a practice commonly known as "parasite SEO.” Under the new policy, any manual actions taken to demote sites will not apply to users in the 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, effective from August 30, 2026. The policy will remain unchanged outside the European Economic Area.

Publisher Concerns

The EU had raised concerns that Google's spam policy was demoting news media and other publishers' websites when those sites included content from commercial partners. Publishers argued that this directly impacted a common and legitimate way for them to monetize their websites and content. The policy change is seen as a direct response to these complaints and a move to address the EU's competitive concerns.

Here is the question this development raises. When Google changes its EU spam policy in response to publisher complaints and an antitrust probe, does it signal a broader shift in how Big Tech will be regulated under the DMA, or is it a one-off concession to avoid a massive fine?

FAQ:

Q: Why did Google change its spam policy in the EU?
A: Google changed its spam policy in the EU to address concerns raised by the European Commission after publishers complained that the policy unfairly demoted their sites in search results, a move that could help avert a potential antitrust fine.

Q: What is the Digital Markets Act?
A: The Digital Markets Act (DMA) is an EU law designed to regulate the market power of major technology companies. Breaches can result in fines of up to 10% of a company's global annual turnover.

Q: What was Google's "site reputation abuse" policy?
A: Google's "site reputation abuse" policy targeted the practice of publishing third-party pages on a site to exploit the host site's ranking signals, a practice known as "parasite SEO."

Q: When does the new Google spam policy take effect?
A: The new Google spam policy takes effect on August 30, 2026, and applies to users in the 27 EU member states, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.

Q: What does the Google spam policy change mean for publishers?
A: The change means that manual actions taken to demote sites due to the spam policy will no longer apply in the EEA, potentially allowing publishers' sites to rank more fairly in search results when hosting commercial content .