Google has proposed concessions in the EU regarding the ranking of news in search results.

      The proposals submitted in Brussels are intended to resolve the European Commission's investigation into whether Google has been downgrading the pages of publishers that contain third-party advertising content. If this issue remains unresolved, Alphabet could face fines of up to 10 percent of its global revenue.

      Google has presented a remedies proposal to the European Commission that suggests modifications to its news content ranking methods in order to resolve a competition investigation before a potential fine under the Digital Markets Act is issued. Bloomberg reported this development on Wednesday, highlighting the company's efforts to prevent adding to the existing €9.5 billion ($11.2 billion) in EU competition fines amassed since 2017.

      The Commission initiated its investigation in November 2025, scrutinizing Google’s "site reputation abuse policy," which was implemented in March 2024. This policy allows Google to demote pages on otherwise reputable sites if they host third-party content that the company considers low-quality or unrelated to the primary purpose of the site.

      The Commission is concerned that this policy may be misused to downgrade the visibility of news publishers’ pages that feature affiliate marketing or third-party advertisements, which could harm their traffic and revenue.

      The European Publishers Council originally filed the antitrust complaint that led to this investigation, contending that the policy disproportionately impacts news publishers, who often rely on advertising and affiliate partnerships to monetize their editorial content.

      A key question is whether Google's ranking algorithm provides news publishers with fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory access to its search platform, as mandated for designated gatekeepers under DMA Article 6(11).

      The specific details of Google's remedies proposal have not been fully disclosed. However, it suggests that the company is willing to modify how the site reputation abuse policy is implemented for news domains and enhance transparency regarding the policy’s effects on publisher pages. The Commission has yet to communicate if these proposals are adequate to resolve the case.

      Should the Commission decline the offer and move forward with a formal infringement decision, Google could incur fines of up to 10 percent of Alphabet’s annual global turnover. Google has already faced cumulative EU antitrust fines totaling €9.71 billion since the 2017 Google Shopping ruling, marking the largest total for any individual technology firm under a single competition regime.

      The news-search investigation is one among several ongoing EU matters that Google is attempting to navigate. Earlier today, we reported on a warning from Google distinguished scientist Sergei Vassilvitskii to the Commission regarding the potential risks of re-identification for European users within two hours due to its proposed remedies on DMA search-data sharing.

      The concurrent revision of the Cybersecurity Act by Brussels has tightened regulations for non-EU tech suppliers. Google’s submission concerning the news-search case is its most explicit effort to resolve one of these pending issues without a contested ruling to date.

      For publishers, this offer comes at a time of significant structural challenges. An analysis by Search Engine Land highlighted that AI-generated answer features in Google search have decreased click-through traffic to publisher websites, with several leading news organizations publicly attributing notable revenue drops to these changes.

      While the site reputation abuse policy is a separate issue, the combined impact of both factors has emerged as a major concern raised by publishers in Brussels.

      The Commission’s next steps are procedurally straightforward. It will evaluate Google’s proposals in relation to the investigation's concerns, market-test the recommended remedies with publishers and other stakeholders, and decide whether to accept, request modifications, or reject them and pursue formal infringement.

      There is no fixed timeline for the investigation, and Bloomberg indicates that there is no specific schedule for the Commission’s response. TNW has been following the broader EU sovereignty and competition agenda this spring; the current news-search case is the most tangible expression of the DMA's enforcement against a designated gatekeeper.

      What is clear from Wednesday's filing is that Google has determined that the financial and reputational risks of a negative ruling from the Commission outweigh the costs of modifying the contested policy. In the upcoming weeks, the publishers who filed the complaint will receive the Commission’s assessment of whether Google's proposal is satisfactory.