A Test in EU Market Compliance

• Google will test a change to its search result display in three EU markets, using plain ‘blue link’ style results for hotel searches, in response to the Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations.
• The company claims that the changes made in response to the DMA have reduced direct booking clicks for airlines, hotel operators, and small retailers by around 30%.

In response to ongoing criticisms of non-compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), Google has announced further changes to its search result displays in the EU. These alterations will specifically impact hotel searches in Belgium, Estonia, and Germany, where a “short test” of plain ‘blue link’ search results will be introduced. This change is reflective of Google’s original search engine display style.

The DMA carries significant penalties for non-compliance, including fines of up to 10% of global annual turnover. Google’s parent company, Alphabet, has been under investigation since March for new features introduced in response to the DMA that competitors argue undermine the regulation’s ban on self-preferencing. Travel comparison sites have been particularly vocal in their accusations that Google is attempting to circumvent its obligations.

This latest round of changes, announced in a blog post by Oliver Bethell, Google’s Director of Legal, will extend beyond the travel vertical and impact product searches and restaurants. Bethell suggests that the changes are the “right way to balance the difficult trade-offs that the DMA involves,” hoping to achieve a solution that complies with the law while still providing European users and businesses access to useful technology.

The changes include displaying what Google claims will be “expanded and equally formatted” units in search results. This will allow users to choose between Google rivals (comparison sites, meta-search engines, review sites, etc.) or direct supplier or retailer websites when searching for products, restaurants, flights, or hotels.

In another move, Google will introduce “other new formats” that enable comparison sites and suppliers to display more detailed information from their websites, such as prices and pictures. Google will also launch new ad units specifically for comparison sites.

A key complaint from travel aggregators is that Google’s search results now display rich features for hotel searches, including a map view of hotels in the chosen location, pricing information, and links to featured hotels’ websites. However, Google claims these changes have reduced direct booking clicks to airlines, hotel operators, and small retailers by around 30%.

Despite the changes, travel aggregators continue to complain. The European Commission is currently assessing Google’s compliance proposals, while Google’s privacy-focused rival, DuckDuckGo, has urged the commission to widen its investigation of the tech giant.

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