Google Warns that EU-Mandated Changes Worsen User Experience

Google said that changes it rolled out Tuesday to its search results in Europe to satisfy European Union regulators will significantly worsen users’ experience there, Reuters reported.

The company made the changes in response to a ruling, accompanied by a 460 million euro fine, that it violated the EU’s Digital Markets Act by favoring its own services in search results. Google told Reuters the changes mark the largest reduction in the quality of its service in its history.

“These changes degrade the user experience for Europeans—boosting online intermediaries at the expense of local businesses, and removing helpful features people rely on every day,” Reuters quoted Nick Fox, Google’s senior vice-president, knowledge & information, as saying.