Google plans EU spam-policy tweak to avert fines

Google is tailoring its site reputation abuse policy in the European Economic Area to address European Commission concerns and avoid potential DMA fines, which can reach up to 10% of global turnover. Beginning August 30, 2026, manual actions demoting sites under this policy will not affect search results for users in the 27 EU member states and Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, while outside the EEA the policy remains unchanged. The EU has been scrutinizing Google over parasite SEO and has opened an investigation under the DMA, which has already resulted in substantial fines for the company in Europe. This policy shift marks the first time Google applies different enforcement outcomes based on the user’s location, separating parts of sites affected by third-party content from the rest of the site in its systems. Industry observers describe the move as a strategic compliance step to mitigate regulatory overhang while preserving overall search integrity outside the region.