Newly issued European Union legislation called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is intended to rid the internet market in Europe of Google’s dominance. ensure fair competition. and prepare a more open environment for digital business.
How Google got (almost) the entire market
The Internet search engine Google began its journey to the top in the early 1990s. As recently as 1999. its algorithms were primarily set to find new brands in demand by users. but thanks to more relevant results and. last but not least. the speed of their display. it quickly became popular with Internet visitors around the world.
One of the historical milestones in search occurred at the beginning of the 21st century. when Google. as the leading search engine. introduced search engine optimization (SEO). which. without exaggeration. meant a revolution in terms of obtaining relevant information about products and services in the digital market. Those who did not have a well-tuned SEO began to fall in the search results (SERP). and companies and brands began to invest heavily in SEO to display them in the first places in the search engine. The subsequent need to use SEO for everyone from global companies to regional entrepreneurs ensured that Google further consolidated its dominant position among search engines.
To the intensive development
of its activities. Google gained email list control of almost the entire market by 2010. when its search platform covered 90% of all search traffic in the world. It achieved this. among other things. by providing links to third-party websites or prioritizing its own services (Google Shopping. Google Flights. Google Hotels) in the SERP.
Users were happy and got exactly what they wanted from Google. but other advertisers were not happy with the situation. Many of them paid a lot of money for advertising. but instead of seeing traffic growth. their websites were suffering because their own links from the Google empire were basking in the top spots in search results .
According to a report by the European Commission. these unfair practices by Google resulted in a reduction in traffic to competing websites with similar objectives by 40% in France. 85% in the United Kingdom and a shocking 92% (!) in this allows you to quickly upload Germany. This unrivaled position in the European digital market and in the Internet space soon became the target of many critics for preventing free consumer choice. innovation and fair competition.
What the Digital Markets Act says
The aim of the DMA. or Digital Markets Act. is to prevent the abuse of dominant market power by so-called “gatekeepers”. the largest platforms in the online world. including Google. and to establish fair competition. It is to achieve this through a number of regulations. the most important of which are:
- No prioritization: a measure preventing “gatekeepers” from displaying their own services at the top of searches. Specifically. Google fax lead will no longer be able to prioritize. for example. Google Hotels or Google Flights at the expense of competing companies providing accommodation reservations or selling airline tickets.
- Severe fines for violations: Companies that fail to comply with the DMA rules face heavy penalties. up to 10% of their total turnover for the relevant year. Further fines follow for repeated violations of the law. In the case of global giant Google. this could be up to billions of dollars.