Google is one of the big tech companies that’s synonymous with the internet for many people, and as such, regulators around the world are watching it carefully, making sure it’s not abusing its position of power. The European Union is particularly strict, and for good reason—regulators in the region have often found the company using its position to harm competitors. That doesn't always seem to be the case, though. When German regulators took a closer look at a recent Google News feature, they determined that it didn’t come with any antitrust issues.

The German Federal Cartel Office, or Bundeskartellamt, took a closer look at Google News Showcases, first introduced in 2020. You may have come across them as bigger cards in Google News yourself, complete with bullet point summary of the story in question and related content. In contrast to most other posts you’ll see in Google News, these are handcrafted by Google and the publisher. Sometimes, these posts even let you skip paywalls. Publishers also get an insight into how readers interact with the content, allowing them to add relevant further content or updates to stories as they evolve.

The investigation was launched in 2021 out of a concern that Google might discriminate against publishers who aren’t part of the program, with competitors being pushed out of the market. The investigators feared that the News Showcase would make it easier for publishers to differentiate themselves from others, as they can display additional context, images, and longer snippets in their showcases—especially if Google would add them to search results.

After a year of negotiations, the concerns could be dispelled. Google says that it doesn’t plan to add News Showcases to search results, leaving an even playing field for all publishers in its search engine. The only part of Google that Showcases were integrated is the Discover panel, which already works in a similar fashion as Google News itself and surfaces articles to readers. Google also made clear that the Showcases are independent from the so-called Extended News Previews, which Google has to sign with publishers in Europe in order to be able to display snippets of their content on Search and News.

While the Google News Showcases aren’t any concern for regulators, Google has been slapped with other fines and is currently under investigation in multiple regions in the world. The most prominent case in Europe probably revolves around Android licensing. The EU determined that Google forcing manufacturers to exclusively use its version of Android or be cut off from the Google services was illegal. Since then, it’s possible for companies to sell phones with both Google services and without, like what Fairphone does with the Fairphone 4.