EU swipe at Google Search broadens net over ‘distinct’ services

By Lewis Crofts and Nicholas Hirst ( March 21, 2025, 10:07 GMT | Comment) -- After months of wrangling over Google’s travel and shopping results, the European Commission has reminded the company that the ban on self-preferencing in search ranking is absolute, covering many more services such as finance data, football results and train booking. But pinning down what constitutes a “distinct” product where Google is itself involved is difficult beyond own-branded services — and the complexity means Google is moving increasingly to a litigation footing.After months of debate over travel searches and online shopping on Google, the European Commission reminded the company this week that the EU’s stiff ban on self-preferencing in ranking is absolute, throwing the net over many more services such as finance data, football results and train bookings....

Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today

MLex identifies risk to business wherever it emerges, with specialist reporters across the globe providing exclusive news and deep-dive analysis on the proposals, probes, enforcement actions and rulings that matter to your organization and clients, now and in the longer term.

Know what others in the room don’t, with features including:

Daily newsletters for Antitrust, M&A, Trade, Data Privacy & Security, Technology, AI and more
Custom alerts on specific filters including geographies, industries, topics and companies to suit your practice needs
Predictive analysis from expert journalists across North America, the UK and Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific
Curated case files bringing together news, analysis and source documents in a single timeline

Experience MLex today with a 14-day free trial.

Start Free Trial

Already a subscriber? Click here to login

EU swipe at Google Search broadens net over ‘distinct’ services

Prepare for tomorrow’s regulatory change, today

Related Sections