German media company ActMeraki has filed an antitrust complaint with the European Commission, alleging that Google’s recent enforcement of its spam policy unfairly penalizes websites and distorts competition in online search rankings.
ActMeraki, formerly known as Meraki Group GmbH, urged the Commission to take urgent action against Google’s Site Reputation Abuse Policy, introduced in March 2024, Reuters reported. The policy targets the practice of “parasite SEO,” where third-party content is hosted on high-ranking websites to manipulate search visibility. Google began enforcing the updated policy in January 2025, prompting criticism from a growing coalition of European media stakeholders.
According to ActMeraki’s legal counsel, Thomas Hoppner, “Google continues to unilaterally set the rules of doing business online in its own favour, preferencing its own commercial offerings and depriving competing service providers of any visibility. It is time to put an effective end to this.”
The complaint echoes broader concerns raised by the European Publishers Council, the European Newspaper Publishers Association, and the European Magazine Media Association, which collectively issued a letter this week calling for immediate regulatory intervention. The groups argue that the policy, along with Google’s opaque enforcement and manual penalties, has resulted in significant drops in visibility, traffic, and revenue for publishers across key European markets including France, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Spain.
In response, a Google spokesperson defended the policy, stating it was developed in reaction to user feedback. “We’ve heard very clearly from users that site reputation abuse—commonly referred to as ‘parasite SEO’—leads to a bad search experience. This policy update helps to crack down on that behaviour,” the company said. Google emphasized that enforcement includes a structured review and reconsideration process for affected site owners.
The European Commission, has not yet commented on the complaint despite multiple requests.
This latest challenge adds to the growing regulatory scrutiny Google faces in Europe, where lawmakers and competition authorities continue to examine the company’s market power and its impact on digital markets, particularly in the areas of online search, advertising, and media sustainability.
