WSJ Tech News Briefing · Friday, August 28, 2026
Google will alter its search result ranking policies in Europe to comply with anti-trust regulations and avoid penalties, specifically concerning third-party content. The European Commission had raised concerns that Google's policy of hiding non-compliant web pages could disproportionately affect news organizations and publishers with commercial partner content, potentially violating the Digital Markets Act.
“And Google will adjust how it ranks search results featuring third-party content in Europe to appease anti-trust regulators and avoid potential fines.”
“But the European Commission found Google demoted websites from news organizations and other publishers containing commercial partner content, which could be a breach of the Digital Markets Act.”
“Google said starting August 30th, its site reputation policy enforcement will no longer impact search results for users in all EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.”