Publication Date: 13.11.2025
Author: Michael Hanfeld (FAZ)
Source: FAZ.net
Publication Date: 13.11.2025
Summary Reading Time: 3 minutes
Executive Summary
The EU Commission has opened an investigation into Google to examine whether the corporation systematically downgrades media and publishers with third-party advertising in search results. Violations of the Digital Markets Act could result in penalties of up to 10% of global annual revenue – that would be several billion euros. While Google simultaneously invests 5.5 billion euros in German AI infrastructure, a fundamental conflict emerges between digital market power and the protection of free media as a cornerstone of democratic public discourse.
Critical Key Questions
- Where does Google's legitimate interest in "user protection" end and where does anti-competitive favoring of its own advertising products begin?
- Can Europe preserve its digital sovereignty while simultaneously accepting billion-euro infrastructure investments from US corporations?
- How effective are EU penalties really when Google continues to expand its market power despite 8.2 billion euros in previous fines?
Scenario Analysis: Future Perspectives
Short-term (1 year):
Google will legally challenge the proceedings while cosmetically adjusting its "site reputation abuse policy" in parallel. Publishers suffer further revenue losses through traffic declines of 20-30%.
Medium-term (5 years):
The EU tightens the Digital Markets Act. Google develops new AI-based search algorithms that increasingly replace classic search results with direct AI answers, further marginalizing publishers.
Long-term (10-20 years):
Either the EU breaks up tech monopolies or Europe becomes a digital protectorate of American and Chinese platforms. The traditional media landscape exists only in state-subsidized niches.
Main Summary
a) Core Topic & Context
The EU Commission is investigating whether Google abuses its dominant market position by systematically downgrading websites from publishers with third-party advertising. This occurs against the backdrop of a parallel EU project called "European Center for Democratic Resilience," which the author criticizes as a "castle in the air."
b) Key Facts & Figures
- 10% of global annual revenue could be due as a penalty (several billion euros for Alphabet)
- Google simultaneously invests 5.5 billion euros in German data centers (by 2029)
- Previous EU fines against Google: 8.2 billion euros in total
- Google's "site reputation abuse policy" is at the center of the investigation
- Teresa Ribera (EU Vice President) leads the proceedings
c) Stakeholders & Affected Parties
- Directly affected: European publishers and media companies
- Involved: EU Commission, Google/Alphabet, German federal government
- Indirectly affected: Advertisers, content creators, EU citizens as users
d) Opportunities & Risks
- Opportunities: Restoration of fair competitive conditions, strengthening of independent media
- Risks: Further digital dependence of Europe, loss of journalistic diversity, erosion of democratic discourse spaces
e) Action Relevance
Media companies should now diversify their traffic dependency on Google. Politics must recalibrate the balance between investment incentives and regulation. The danger exists that billion-euro infrastructure investments could be used as political leverage.
Quality Assurance & Fact-Checking
- ✅ EU fines against Google confirmed (8.2 billion EUR cumulative 2017-2021)
- ✅ 10% rule of the Digital Markets Act verified (Art. 30 DMA)
- ⚠️ To be verified: Actual traffic losses of publishers due to policy change
- ⚠️ Critical: Author mixes commentary with reporting
Supplementary Research
- Google Masters the Innovator's Dilemma: AI Answers Exceed Classic Search Revenue – Clarus News, 11.11.2025
- Digital Markets Act: Full Text and Enforcement Mechanisms – EUR-Lex
- Google's Site Reputation Abuse Policy Update – Google Search Central [As of: May 2024]
Source References
Primary Source:
EU Commission Investigates: Google Likes to Put Itself First – FAZ.net, 13.11.2025
Supplementary Sources:
- Google Masters the Innovator's Dilemma – Clarus News
- Digital Markets Act – EU Official Journal
- EU Commission: Competition Proceedings Against Google – Press Release
Verification Status: ✅ Facts checked on 13.11.2025