The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has introduced two new ethical requirements for Google’s standard search services, one covering how organic results are calculated and the other covering the portability of search data.
Under the fair ranking requirement, Google must rank organic results using objective and non-discriminatory criteria, including AI Overview, but not sponsored results. It should also be transparent about how the standards work, provide advance notice of important changes, and establish a process for businesses to raise concerns.
The Right Level
Businesses told the CMA that Google’s ranking practices are unfair and transparent, that changes come without sufficient notice, and that they have no effective way to raise concerns when those changes harm them.
Will Hayter, Senior Director of Digital Markets at CMA, said in the announcement:
“These new measures will ensure that search results are calculated correctly and appropriately, with clear information about changes and effective ways to raise concerns.”
Google has gone back to the principle behind the ranking requirement. A spokesperson told the Press Gazette that “the company’s plans are fair, transparent and show very appropriate, high-quality results.”
Data portability
The second requirement turns Google’s UK Data Portability API into a legal obligation. The tool already allows people to share their search data with third-party services.
Those services want to build products around data but lack reliable access, with uses like personalized shopping deals or cashback rewards. The requirement brings the data rights of UK users into line with the EU under the Digital Markets Act.
Timeline and Oversight
Google has six months to implement the fair standard requirement and three months for data portability. The CMA will monitor compliance through regular reporting and may add additional measures.
How We Got Here
The requirements follow earlier June action by the CMA that gave websites more control over how their content is used to power Google’s AI features. Both sit under the UK’s digital markets competition regime, created by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.
Google was named the state of the art market for traditional advertising and search last year. That designation is not a finding that Google violated competition law.
Why This Matters
The requirement of a suitable level directs the long-term frustration in the search. UK businesses rely on Google Search to reach customers, but say the way the rankings work is too unpredictable to plan around. Objective criteria, early notification of important changes, and a complaints process will give those businesses a defined way to raise concerns.
The requirement includes organic results, including those in AI Overviews, but not sponsored results. That puts the general AI standard under the same fairness and transparency obligations as the general biological standard.
The requirement does not make Google’s ranking systems public. It sets out obligations regarding criteria, notice, and appeals, not disclosure of the ranking algorithm.
Looking Forward
CMA is working in phases, with more work on Google’s search business expected in the summer. Both requirements only apply in the UK.
The open question now is implementation. The amount of the requirement depends on how Google uses it, and whether it satisfies the CMA.
The UK action adds to wider regulatory scrutiny of Google Search in other markets, including the United States and the European Union.
Featured Image: Tupungato/Shutterstock
