Google self-preferencing in online search: Geradin Partners welcomes landmark DMA decision
On 23 July 2026, the European Commission found Alphabet to have breached the Digital Markets Act’s (DMA) prohibition on self-preferencing under Article 6(5). The Commission concluded that Alphabet had consistently given preferential treatment to own services in general search results pages.
More specifically, the Commission found that Alphabet favoured its specialised search and intermediation services, including in the area of shopping, hotels, transport, but also for sports results, to the detriment of competing services and, ultimately, consumers.
“Google displays its own services more prominently in search results, including at the top of the search results page or by using enhanced visuals and filters, while similar third-party services do not have the same prominence.”
The Commission imposed a fine of € 430 million, and ordered Alphabet to present a workable remedy within 60 days.
Background – the Google self-preferencing saga
Today’s decision marks the latest chapter in a dispute between Google and the European Commission over the fair presentation of businesses in Google’s general search results pages. The dispute dates back to 2007, when Google began ranking and displaying its own services more prominently than competing services, including more relevant ones.
Following several complaints, the Commission launched a competition law investigation in 2010 into Google’s favouring of specialised search services, including hotel, flight, product and news search. Between 2012 and 2014, three attempts to resolve the case through commitments failed.
In 2014, given the breadth of the issues and industries concerned, the Commission decided to focus first on comparison shopping. This led to the Google Search (Shopping) decision in 2017, which fined Google a record EUR 2.4 billion for abusing its dominance in general search by favouring Google’s own comparison shopping service through so-called Shopping Units.
Google appealed that decision and largely maintained its conduct. The Commission successfully defended the decision before the EU Courts, obtaining a final judgment in 2024. In parallel, it secured a broader prohibition of self-preferencing in the Digital Markets Act, which entered into force in 2022.
After Google further maintained its practices, the Commission opened non-compliance proceedings under Article 6(5) DMA in March 2024. Following Preliminary Findings in March 2025, today’s decision concludes one of the DMA’s most commercially significant and geo-politically misrepresented investigations. It confirms that Google systematically favoured several of its specialised services in its general search results, to the detriment of competing businesses and consumers.
Assessment
Geradin Partner Thomas Höppner comments:
“Today’s decision is a milestone in ensuring a competitive level playing field for businesses online. For too many years, Google’s self-preferencing in search has constituted one of the most harmful practices in the digital economy. Today’s decision confirms what hundreds of affected businesses have complained about for many years: Google is not competing on the merits. It grants itself unjustified visibility and distribution advantages that distort competition and deprive consumers of better services, innovation and lower prices. We are pleased that the Commission is seeking to put an end to this.”
Geradin Partner Jérémie Jourdan adds:
“Google’s self-preferencing has caused significant harm to the online economy. We applaud the Commission for issuing a non-compliance decision despite attempts to mischaracterise DMA enforcement as a discriminatory trade measure. More competitive and innovative online markets will benefit consumers, businesses and the wider economy on both sides of the Atlantic.”
About Geradin Partners and our involvement in the topic
Geradin Partners lawyers have been involved in this issue since day one.
Thomas Höppner filed the original complaint against self-preferencing in Google Search on behalf of the German press publishers’ associations BDZV and VDZ (now MVFP) in 2009. Further complaints for businesses from different verticals followed. Together with counsel Philipp Westerhoff, they also represented three interveners in the Google Search (Shopping) appeal proceedings before the EU Courts, as well as several parties in the DMA investigation. In 2020, he authored the book Google’s (Non-) Compliance with the EU Shopping Decision. In 2024, he followed up with the book Self-Preferencing in Online Search under Article 6(5) DMA. The latter book set out ten Principles of Neutral Search, which subsequently formed the foundation of the “Initiative for Neutral Search”, co-signed by more than 150 businesses and associations from 30 industries.
Jérémie Jourdan has assisted several companies with DMA complaints concerning Google’s self-preferencing in search. While working at Schibsted Marketplaces, which owns price comparison site Prisjakt, he was closely involved in the discussions and workshops concerning Google’s proposed compliance measures in the Article 6(5) DMA investigation.
Ruben Elkerbout, Johannes Wick, Daniel Mandrescu, Philine Wassenaar and Szymon Kohlhepp represent and advise several comparison services harmed by Google’s self-preferencing and have assisted them in their efforts to secure a level playing field.
In addition to its involvement in the administrative proceedings, Geradin Partners assists affected parties with private enforcement actions. Among its complex litigation matters, the firm represents several specialised search services, including more than a dozen comparison shopping services, in damages claims across Europe following the Commission’s 2017 Google Search (Shopping) decision. The total amount claimed exceeds EUR 6 billion.
Among others, Geradin Partners advised idealo and Producto in their damages claims against Google, which resulted in awards of EUR 465 million and EUR 107 million respectively in Germany in November 2025 — the highest antitrust damages awards ever granted by a German court.
Most recently, Geradin Partners filed a damage claim on behalf of hotel metasearch provider trivago relating to Google’s self-preferencing in search.
Contacts in alphabetic order:
Ruben Elkerbout
Thomas Höppner
Jérémie Jourdan
Szymon Kohlhepp
Daniel Mandrescu
Tom Smith
Philine Wassenaar
Philipp Westerhoff
Johannes Wick
