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

      The proposals submitted in Brussels seek to resolve the European Commission's investigation into whether Google has been lowering the visibility of publishers' pages containing third-party advertising content. If a resolution is not reached, Alphabet could face fines of up to 10 percent of its global revenue.

      Google has presented a remedies proposal to the European Commission, suggesting modifications to its ranking process for news content in search results, aiming to settle a competition investigation before a fine under the Digital Markets Act is imposed. Bloomberg reported on this filing on Wednesday, with Google looking to avoid increasing its existing total of €9.5 billion ($11.2 billion) in EU competition penalties accrued since 2017.

      Initiated by the Commission in November 2025, the investigation centers on Google's “site reputation abuse policy” introduced in March 2024. This policy allows Google to demote pages from otherwise credible websites if those pages host third-party content deemed low quality or irrelevant to the main focus of the host site.

      The Commission is concerned that this policy has been utilized to downgrade news publishers' pages that feature affiliate marketing or third-party advertising content, resulting in decreased traffic and revenue.

      The European Publishers Council submitted the initial antitrust complaint that prompted the investigation, arguing that the policy unfairly impacts news publishers who often monetize editorial content through advertising and affiliate partnerships.

      The primary 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).

      While the full details of Google's remedies have not been disclosed, the proposals suggest that the company is prepared to modify the application of the site reputation abuse policy for news domains and make its impact on publisher pages more transparent. The Commission has yet to indicate whether these proposals are adequate to resolve the case.

      Should the Commission reject the offer and move forward with a formal infringement decision, Google could incur a fine of up to 10 percent of Alphabet’s global annual revenue. Cumulative EU antitrust fines against Google have already reached €9.71 billion since the 2017 Google Shopping decision, positioning the company at the forefront of penalties among technology operators under any single competition regime.

      The investigation into news search is one of several ongoing EU matters that Google is addressing. Recently, we covered a warning from Google distinguished scientist Sergei Vassilvitskii regarding the Commission’s proposed remedies concerning DMA search-data sharing, which could potentially allow European users to be re-identified within two hours.

      The ongoing revision of the Cybersecurity Act in Brussels has further tightened regulations for non-EU technology suppliers. Google’s submission related to the news-search case represents its most direct effort yet to resolve one of these open issues without facing a contested ruling.

      From the publishers’ perspective, this proposal comes at a time of significant pressure. An analysis by Search Engine Land highlighted that AI-generated answer experiences in Google search have further decreased click-through traffic to publisher sites, with several major news organizations publicly linking substantial revenue declines to this change.

      While the site reputation abuse policy is a distinct issue, the combined impact of both matters has been a major concern raised by publishers in Brussels.

      The Commission's next steps are clear in procedure. It will evaluate Google’s proposals against the concerns identified during the investigation, market-test the proposed remedies with publishers and other impacted parties, and determine whether to accept, request modifications, or reject the proposals and move toward formal infringement.

      There is no fixed timeline for the investigation's completion, and Bloomberg reports that the Commission has not provided a specific timetable for its response. TNW has been monitoring the broader EU sovereignty and competition agenda through this spring; the news-search case currently exemplifies the enforcement capabilities of the DMA against designated gatekeepers.

      What is confirmed by Wednesday’s filing is that Google has concluded the financial and reputational risks of a negative ruling from the Commission outweigh the costs of adjusting the disputed policy. In the coming weeks, the publishers who lodged the complaint will receive the Commission’s assessment of whether Google’s offer is sufficient.