The UK Competition and Markets Authority has ordered Google to be more transparent about how search rankings are determined and to allow users to port search data to authorised third parties. The measures follow the CMA's designation of Google with "strategic market status," enabling targeted regulatory obligations. They build on recent rules that let publishers block their content from being used to power Google's AI features, and the CMA expects further action over the summer.
UK Regulator Orders Google To Reveal How Search Rankings Work And Enable Data Portability
FILE PHOTO: The Google logo is pictured at the entrance to the Google offices in London, Britain January 18, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has ordered Google to provide greater transparency about how its search rankings are determined and to let users transfer their search data to authorised third parties. The measures are intended to secure "a fairer deal" for businesses and to improve the quality and accountability of search services in the UK.
What The New Rules Require
Transparency And Fairness: Google must improve how it explains and documents the factors and processes that determine search result rankings so that businesses and the public can understand why results appear as they do and spot unfair or opaque changes.
Data Portability: The company is required to enable users to move their search data to authorised third parties, giving consumers and businesses more control over their information and the ability to use it with competing services.
Context And Impact
The CMA has cited concerns about Google's dominance in search and has designated the company with "strategic market status," a designation that allows the regulator to impose targeted obligations to increase transparency and promote competition. The watchdog said these steps build on earlier conduct requirements announced this month that let publishers stop their content being used to power the company's AI features.
"These new measures will ensure search results are ranked fairly and objectively, with clearer information about changes and effective routes to raise concerns," Will Hayter, the CMA's Executive Director for Digital Markets, said in the statement.
The CMA signalled that it expects "more activity" over the summer as it continues to use its powers to address competition concerns. The regulator says the aim is not to punish firms but to make markets work better for consumers, publishers and businesses.
(Reporting by Muvija M; editing by Sarah Young)
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