Google Updates EU Spam Policy Amid Publisher Complaints

Google announced a revision to its spam policy in the European Union after receiving complaints from publishers regarding its site reputation abuse policy. This policy targeted the practice of using third-party content to manipulate search rankings, known as parasite SEO.

The European Commission's monitoring revealed that this policy led to the downgrading of websites and content from news organizations and other publishers when they hosted material from commercial partners. Effective August 30, manual actions that negatively impact search rankings will no longer apply to users in the 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.

However, the policy will remain unchanged outside the European Economic Area. This policy change comes amid the European Commission's ongoing investigation under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to regulate the market power of major technology companies.

Companies found in violation of the DMA may face fines of up to 10% of their worldwide annual turnover.