Previously, some smaller competitors complained that Alphabet (GOOGL.US)'s earlier adjustments led to a decrease in their website traffic.
According to Zhito Finance APP, Google has proposed making more adjustments to its search results in europe. Previously, some smaller competitors complained that Alphabet (GOOGL.US)'s earlier adjustments led to a decrease in their website traffic, while EU antitrust regulators are considering suing Google under the new technology rules.
Under the Digital Markets Act, Google is prohibited from favoring its own products and services on its platform. This act was implemented last year and aims to control the power of large technology companies.
Since then, Google's search engine has been trying to address the conflicting needs of comparison websites, hotels, airlines, and small retailers. The latter three companies stated that their direct booking clicks have dropped by 30% due to recent changes by Google.
"Therefore, we propose to further modify our search results in europe to accommodate these demands while still meeting the goals set by the DMA," Google's legal director Oliver Bethell said on Tuesday.
The changes include the introduction of expanded and identical format units, allowing users to choose between comparison websites and supplier sites. The new format allows competitors to display prices and images on their sites, as well as providing new advertising units for comparison websites.
"We believe the latest proposal is the right way to balance the difficult trade-offs involved in the DMA," Bethell said.
Regarding its search results in Germany, Belgium, and Estonia, Google also plans to remove the maps displaying hotel locations and the results below the maps, similar to the "ten blue links" format from years ago, as part of a brief test to measure user interest.
Bethell stated: "We are very reluctant to take this step, as removing useful features benefits neither consumers nor businesses in Europe."
Since March, Google has been a target of the European Commission. Violations of the DMA could result in businesses losing up to 10% of their global annual revenue.