The passing of the Digital Markets Act by the European Parliament has had widespread implications for the user experience in that continent. It turns out that a number of users in Europe have been complaining that certain Google features aren’t working the way that they are supposed to. For example, the Google Maps link to the SERP has been removed, and you can’t click to go to the map from that page either.
Some might see this as a bug, with all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that it might actually be a feature. These tools have been removed due to Google’s compliance with the DMA, although some might refer to it as malicious compliance. When users posted these issues in a forum, a Google employee replied to the thread and confirmed that these features are missing precisely due to the DMA with all things having been considered and taken into account.
If you see a map in the SERP, you won’t be able to click on it if you are in the European Economic Zone. The link to Maps has been removed as well, and the Google employee ended the comment by stating that Google had posted a blog that can answer any and all questions that people might have regarding the matter at hand.
The map can be expanded in some examples, but clicking through to it may not be an option at this current point in time. The lack of Google Map access in the SERP might lead to backlash because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up diminishing the user experience by a large margin.
It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out, since Google’s compliance with the DMA may be making the user experience less favorable than might have been the case otherwise. This could result in the EU having to think twice before imposing further restrictions, but it’s quite unlikely that they would go back on this particular act.
Read next: This New AI From Google Researchers Sets Images in Motion
Some might see this as a bug, with all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that it might actually be a feature. These tools have been removed due to Google’s compliance with the DMA, although some might refer to it as malicious compliance. When users posted these issues in a forum, a Google employee replied to the thread and confirmed that these features are missing precisely due to the DMA with all things having been considered and taken into account.
If you see a map in the SERP, you won’t be able to click on it if you are in the European Economic Zone. The link to Maps has been removed as well, and the Google employee ended the comment by stating that Google had posted a blog that can answer any and all questions that people might have regarding the matter at hand.
The map can be expanded in some examples, but clicking through to it may not be an option at this current point in time. The lack of Google Map access in the SERP might lead to backlash because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up diminishing the user experience by a large margin.
It will be interesting to see where things go from here on out, since Google’s compliance with the DMA may be making the user experience less favorable than might have been the case otherwise. This could result in the EU having to think twice before imposing further restrictions, but it’s quite unlikely that they would go back on this particular act.
Read next: This New AI From Google Researchers Sets Images in Motion
