Last year the European Union issued a new regulation called Digital Markets Act (DMA), which applies to companies designated as “Gatekeepers”. In view of the entry into force of these new rules in March, Google has begun testing and implementing a number of changes to its products. People and businesses in Europe will start to see these changes in the coming weeks.
Google changes its products following the Digital Markets Act
Some of Google’s products may look and function differently following the implementation of the Digital Markets Act. Here are some of them.
Additional consents for connected services con il Digital Markets Act
We currently share data between some Google products and services for certain purposes. Including personalizing content and ads if your user settings allow it. In the coming weeks, an additional consent request will be presented to users in Europe asking whether certain services can continue to share data with other Google services for these purposes.
Changes to search results
For example, when people search for a hotel or a product to buy, Google often shows information in the results to help them find what they need, such as images and prices. Sometimes this information can be part of a result for a single business, such as a hotel or restaurant, or it can be a group of relevant featured results. In the coming weeks in Europe, we will expand testing for a number of changes to the search results page.
Choice screens
When using an Android phone, you can change the default search engine or browser easily. Under the DMA, Google and other designated companies will be required to display additional choice screens. You may start seeing them on Android phones when you set up a device, and in the Chrome app on desktop and iOS devices.
Data portability
For over a decade the giant has offered users the ability to download or transfer a copy of their data from more than 80 Google products. The company continues to invest in Google Takeout, the Data Transfer Initiative and more generally in data portability. To meet new requirements for moving data from Google to a third-party app or service, data portability APIs for developers will soon be tested.
