Google cumple 28 años: Innovación, desafíos y presión europea.

Last week, Google celebrated its 28th birthday. That’s over a quarter century of dominating the internet — search, maps, email, cloud, advertising, and now AI. But as the company blows out the candles, it’s also facing more scrutiny than ever before, particularly in Europe. Regulatory pressure, antitrust investigations, and a growing appetite for homegrown alternatives are reshaping what Google’s future in the EU might actually look like.

Here’s a comprehensive look at where things stand: what’s changed recently, what Google is doing right, where it’s falling short, and what European users can expect going forward.

Recent Moves That Shaped Google’s Landscape

A lot has happened in and around Google over the past couple of years, especially when it comes to Europe. A few developments stand out:

• Google rolled out AI Overviews for Search in select EU countries, but held back the feature in most member states due to uncertainty around local regulations. (Euronews)
• The company eliminated certain cloud data transfer fees for customers in the EU and UK, making it easier and cheaper to move data between providers. (Reuters)
• The European Commission launched a renewed investigation into whether Google gives preferential treatment to its own services in search results, potentially violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). (CNBC)
• Ahead of the EU’s Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation taking effect in October 2025, Google announced it would stop running political ads across EU member states. (Google Blog)

Where Google Is Actually Making Progress

It’s not all bad news. There are areas where Google has taken meaningful steps, whether driven by regulation, public pressure, or genuine corporate initiative.

Lower cloud costs for businesses: Scrapping data transfer fees in the EU and UK is a real win for companies using multi-cloud setups. It reduces vendor lock-in and gives businesses more room to maneuver between cloud providers without being penalized financially. (Reuters)

Search result adjustments: Google has proposed changes to how search results are displayed in Europe, with the goal of creating a more level playing field for competitors. (CNBC) Whether these tweaks go far enough is still debated, but the direction is notable.

Stepping back from political advertising: By pulling political ads from the EU ahead of the TTPA deadline, Google is taking a proactive stance on election integrity and misinformation — two topics that have dogged the tech industry for years. (Google Blog)

The Criticism Isn’t Going Away

For all the progress, there’s a long list of concerns that keep piling up — and European regulators are not backing down.

Heavy fines and ongoing investigations: Google was hit with a fine of approximately €2.95 billion over its ad tech practices. (AP News) And that may not be the last of it — a second EU antitrust fine is reportedly in the pipeline. (Reuters)

Regulatory friction slowing down AI features: The EU’s regulatory framework — including the DMA, the Digital Services Act (DSA), and the AI Act — has made Google considerably more cautious about rolling out new features in Europe. The delayed launch of AI Overviews is a clear example of how compliance concerns can slow innovation. (Euronews)

Privacy lawsuits from users: Collective legal actions, such as those filed in the Netherlands, reflect growing public unease about how Google handles personal data. (Stichting Bescherming Privacybelangen) Users aren’t just frustrated — they’re taking action.

The fact-checking standoff: EU institutions have pushed Google to integrate mandatory fact-checking into Search and YouTube. Google has pushed back, refusing to comply fully, which has frustrated regulators and raised questions about the company’s commitment to combating misinformation. (Brussels Signal)

How European Regulation Is Forcing Google’s Hand

The EU’s regulatory machine is working overtime when it comes to Big Tech. Google has been formally designated as a gatekeeper under the DMA, which means it’s legally required to ensure fair access and user choice across its core platforms. (The Guardian) This has broad implications for how Google operates its search engine, app store, and advertising business in Europe.

Beyond the DMA, the incoming TTPA legislation targeting political advertising transparency goes live in October 2025. Google’s decision to simply exit the political ad space in the EU rather than comply with the new requirements shows just how complex navigating this regulatory environment has become. (Google Blog) And with more antitrust fines potentially on the way (AP News), the financial stakes of non-compliance are only growing.

European Alternatives Worth Knowing About

One of the most interesting side effects of Google’s regulatory headaches in Europe is the increased attention on homegrown alternatives. If you’re looking to reduce your reliance on Google’s ecosystem, there are some solid options to consider:

• Mojeek: A UK-based search engine that runs its own independent web crawler and index — meaning it doesn’t rely on Google or Bing under the hood. It’s built with privacy at its core. (Wikipedia) For more privacy-respecting search options, check out our guide on alternatives to Google Search.
• Magic Earth: A navigation app that doesn’t track your movements or sell your data — a genuinely privacy-friendly alternative to Google Maps. (Wikipedia) We’ve also rounded up the best European alternatives to Google Maps if you want even more options.
• DNS4EU: An EU-backed initiative developing a secure, privacy-respecting DNS infrastructure for European internet users — a foundational piece of digital sovereignty. (Wikipedia)

Beyond these, other European-friendly tools like Ecosia, Startpage, and Search For Trees also offer alternatives to Google Search with varying degrees of privacy and ecological focus. And if you’re thinking about replacing Google Drive or Google Workspace entirely, there are increasingly capable European options — take a look at our comparison of top European alternatives to Google Drive or our Proton Workspace vs Google Workspace breakdown.

What the Next Few Years Might Look Like

The trajectory is pretty clear: Google’s operating environment in Europe is going to get tighter, not looser. Here’s what’s likely coming:

• Stricter enforcement of the DMA and DSA will push Google toward more transparency across its products — and possibly force structural changes to how it surfaces search results and runs its ad business.
• The EU’s AI Act will have a direct impact on AI-powered features like AI Overviews, potentially shaping which capabilities are available to European users and under what conditions.
• Growing awareness of European alternatives could meaningfully shift user behavior, fostering more digital diversity and reducing dependence on a handful of American tech giants.

Reflexiones finales

Twenty-eight years in, Google remains one of the most powerful and influential companies on the planet. But the pressures it faces — regulatory, legal, and reputational — are more serious than at any previous point in its history. For European users, this tension between a dominant global tech player and an assertive regulatory environment is likely to result in more transparency, more competition, and more genuine choice in the years ahead. Whether that translates into a real shift in how people use the internet remains to be seen — but the momentum is building.

Última actualización: 28 de septiembre de 2026