Archive · 30 Aug 2026
Google changes European spam policy to avoid EU antitrust fine
Google changed a rule about unwanted or unfair search practices in Europe.
The rule was meant to stop websites from using outside pages to improve their search rankings.
This practice is sometimes called parasite SEO.
Publishers said Google’s rule caused problems for their websites.
EU regulators also found that news and other publisher websites could be pushed lower in search results.
This could happen when those websites included content from commercial partners.
Google said it changed the policy to address the EU’s concerns.
The changes may help Google avoid an antitrust fine.
Google said Friday it changed its spam policy in Europe.
The change responds to concerns from European Union regulators.
Publishers had complained about Google’s site reputation abuse policy.
The policy targets third-party pages exploiting a host site’s search-ranking signals.
EU monitoring found the policy demoted some publisher content involving commercial partners.
- Who
- Google, European Union regulators, and publishers.
- What
- Google changed its European spam policy after concerns about how it affected publisher websites.
- When
- Friday; the articles do not provide a specific date for the policy change.
- Where
- Europe and the European Union.
- Why
- To address EU concerns that the policy could lead to an antitrust fine.
Google’s policy response
EU and publishers’ concerns
Effect of the spam policy
Google’s policy response
Google changed its policy to address concerns raised by EU regulators.
EU and publishers’ concerns
Publishers complained that the policy demoted their websites and content when they included material from commercial partners.
Search-ranking enforcement
Google’s policy response
The policy was designed to target third-party pages that exploit a host site’s ranking signals, a practice known as parasite SEO.
EU and publishers’ concerns
EU monitoring found that enforcement also affected news media and other publishers, prompting regulatory concern.
- Company
- Google, owned by Alphabet
- Policy
- Site reputation abuse policy
- Affected groups
- News media and other publishers
- Disputed practice
- Publishing third-party pages to exploit a host site’s ranking signals
- Common term
- Parasite SEO
- Regulatory concern
- The policy could result in an antitrust fine
- Reported effect
- EU monitoring found some publisher websites and content were demoted in Google search results