tech2 News StaffFeb 16, 2021 11:57:47 AM
Google agreed to pay a fine of 1.1 million euros ($ 1.3 million) after French authorities discovered the search engine was showing “misleading” listings for French hotels. Previously, Google used the official source Atout France as well as input from other websites in the hotel industry in its algorithm to rate hotels with one to five stars. Following complaints from hoteliers about Google’s ranking, the French government’s fraud and competition authority – the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumption and Anti-Fraud (DGCCRF) – opened an investigation in 2019 and 2020.
Representative picture. Image: Reuters
The agency said it should monitor “the nature and fairness of the information provided by the platform” in 7,500 establishments.
The “investigation by the DGCCRF showed that Google had replaced the Atout France ranking with a classification that was determined according to its own criteria.” The agency said the practice was “particularly harmful” to customers who believed they received certain benefits when booking a hotel and to hotels that were rated lower by Google than Atout France.
Google announced that it has now “made the changes necessary to only reflect the official French star rating for hotels in Google Maps and Search”.
With inputs from The Associate Press.
