Google proposed a number of changes to the EU in order to avoid fines from the European Union. One of those changes is around the site reputation abuse policy, which the EU watchdog said directly impacts a common and legitimate way for publishers to monetize their websites and content.
I cannot find the specific proposal from Google, and I did ask Google for it, but Bloomberg, Reuters, TheNextWeb and others have some information.
TheNextWeb wrote, "The remedies Google has offered have not been published in full. The proposals indicates that the company is willing to adjust how the site reputation abuse policy is applied to news domains, and to make the policy’s effect on publisher pages more transparent. The Commission has not yet indicated whether the proposals are sufficient to settle the case."
"Our priority is to keep Search results helpful and useful for users and protect them from deceptive practices like 'parasite SEO' spam that undermine the web," a spokesperson told Reuters.
So it is super unclear how such a policy may be adapted for EU news publishers versus the rest of the world.
I did ask Google for more information and it would feel weird if Google would adapt its spam policies based on the EU fines. The old Google, I don't think would do that.
A Google spokesperson told me, "We are continuing to engage constructively with the European Commission regarding their inquiry. Our priority is to keep Search results helpful and useful for users and protect them from deceptive practices like 'parasite SEO' spam that undermine the web."
Wait, what? Google might change its 'Site reputation abuse' spam policy for this? -> Google offers changes to spam policy to avert EU antitrust fine
— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) May 7, 2026
"Google has proposed changes to comply with the DMA, the document said, giving interested parties until next week to offer…
Holy moly. Pretty sure I know the backstory here 👀👀👀 https://t.co/FJPpsubfTP
— Lily Ray 😏 (@lilyraynyc) May 7, 2026
Forum discussion at X.
