New adjustments to European search results in response to the proposed regulation of Google (GOOGL.US)

The Zhitong Finance App has learned that Google has proposed more adjustments to its search results in Europe. Earlier, some smaller competitors complained that Alphabet (GOOGL.US)'s previous adjustments had caused a drop in traffic to its website, while EU antitrust regulators were considering filing a lawsuit against Google under the EU's new tech rules.

Under the Digital Marketplace Act, Google is prohibited from favoring its products and services on its platform. The bill, which began implementation last year, aims to control the power of big tech companies.

Since then, Google's search engine has been trying to resolve the conflicting needs of price comparison websites, hotels, airlines, and small retailers. The latter three companies said their direct booking hits have dropped 30% due to recent Google changes.

“As a result, we are proposing more revisions to our European search results to meet these requirements while still meeting the goals set by the DMA,” Google's legal director Oliver Bethell said on Tuesday.

Changes include introducing extensions and same-format units, allowing users to choose between comparison sites and vendor sites, new formats that allow competitors to display prices and images on their websites, and new ad units for comparison sites.

“We think the latest proposal is the right way to balance the difficult trade-offs involved in DMA,” Bethell said.

For its search results in Germany, Belgium, and Estonia, Google also plans to remove the map showing the hotel's location and the results below the map, similar to the “ten blue links” format from many years ago, as part of a short test to measure user interest.

“We're very reluctant to take this step because removing useful features isn't beneficial to European consumers and businesses,” Bethell said.

Google has been a target of the European Commission since March. DMA violations can cost businesses up to 10% of their global annual turnover.