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Google offers changes to spam policy to avoid EU fine
07 May 2026

Google has proposed changes to its spam policy, which has been criticized by publishers.

The move comes as part of an effort to avoid a potential EU antitrust fine under the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The existing policy demotes publisher websites that feature content from commercial partners, a common monetization strategy.

European Commission's investigation into Google's spam policy
Policy criticism

The European Commission, the EU competition enforcer, launched an investigation into Google's spam policy last November.

The probe was triggered by complaints from publishers that the tech giant's site reputation abuse policy was demoting their websites in search results.

The practice of publishing third-party pages on a site to manipulate search rankings is known as parasite SEO.

Google proposes changes to spam policy
Policy revision

In light of the investigation, Google has proposed changes to its spam policy.

The company has given interested parties until next week to provide feedback on these proposed changes.

A Google spokesperson said they are engaging constructively with the Commission and their priority is to keep search results helpful for users while protecting them from deceptive practices like "parasite SEO" spam that undermine the web.

What is the issue?
Policy impact

The European Commission has observed that Google's spam policy demotes news media and other publishers' websites and content in search results when they include content from commercial partners.

The watchdog said this policy directly affects a common and legitimate way for publishers to monetize their websites and content.

If found guilty of DMA violations, companies could be fined up to 10% of their global annual turnover.