§4.2.3 Transparency of search results

Search engines allow searching for information on the internet according to a specific algorithm. Also other intermediaries, such as online marketplaces and price comparison services, provide for the possibility to search amongst the different products and suppliers that are accessible via their services. Consumers expect search results to be 'natural' or 'organic' and based on sufficiently impartial criteria. However, the providers also include in the search results paid-for advertising or improve the ranking of products due to direct or indirect payment they receive from the relevant third party traders. Directive (EU) 2019/2161 added to Article 7 of the UCPD a new paragraph 4a laying down a specific information requirement about the main parameters determining the ranking. In addition, a new point 11a was added to Annex I of the UCPD, prohibiting undisclosed advertising and paid promotion in search results. Information about ranking parameters Article 7 ‘4a. When providing consumers with the possibility to search for products offered by different traders or by consumers on the basis of a query in the form of a keyword, phrase or other input, irrespective of where transactions are ultimately concluded, general information, made available in a specific section of the online interface that is directly and easily accessible from the page where the query results are presented, on the main parameters determining the ranking of products presented to the consumer as a result of the search query and the relative importance of those parameters, as opposed to other parameters, shall be regarded as material. This paragraph does not apply to providers of online search engines as defined in point (6) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 […]’ The new information requirement in Article 7(4a) applies only to traders that allow consumers to search for products offered by other, third party, traders or by consumers, i.e. online marketplaces and comparison tools. It does not apply to traders that provide their consumers with a possibility to search only amongst their own offers of different products. The information requirement also does not apply to ‘online search engines’ as defined in Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 (the ‘P2B Regulation’). This is because the P2B Regulation already requires all providers of online search engines to publish ‘an easily and publicly available description’ of their main parameters, which is accordingly also accessible for consumers and not only for business users. Furthermore, the information requirement in the UCPD applies to traders when the consumer enters a search query. In contrast, it does not apply to the default organisation of the online interface that is displayed to the consumer and that is not the result of a specific search query on that online interface. Directive (EU) 2019/2161 added a similar information obligation also to the CRD that only applies to online marketplaces, i.e. intermediaries enabling the direct conclusion of consumer contracts with third parties (both B2C or C2C contracts). The notion of ‘ranking’ is defined in Article 2(m) of the UCPD as ‘the relative prominence given to products, as presented, organised or communicated by the trader, irrespective of the technological means used for such presentation, organisation or communication’. The same definition applies also in the context of the CRD. Recital 19 of Directive (EU) 2019/2161 further explains it as ‘…including resulting from the use of algorithmic sequencing, rating or review mechanisms, visual highlights, or other saliency tools, or combinations thereof’. As regards the content of the information, the platform must provide ‘general’ information about the main parameters determining the ranking of products and about the ‘relative importance’ of those parameters as opposed to other parameters. According to recital 22 of Directive (EU) 2019/2161 ‘Parameters determining the ranking mean any general criteria, processes, specific signals incorporated into algorithms or other adjustment or demotion mechanisms used in connection with the ranking.’ Information on ranking is without prejudice to Directive (EU) 2016/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council (345) on trade secrets. As explained in the parallel ranking transparency obligation for all online platforms and online search engines laid down in Article 5 of the P2B Regulation, this means that a consideration of the commercial interests of the relevant providers should never lead to a refusal to disclose the main parameters determining ranking. At the same time, neither Directive (EU) 2016/943 nor the P2B Regulation requires disclosure of the detailed functioning of the ranking mechanisms of the relevant providers, including their algorithms (346). The same approach applies to information requirement under the UCPD. The description of the default ranking parameters can remain at a general level and does not have to be presented in a customised manner for each individual search query (347). The information must be provided in a clear and comprehensible manner and in a way appropriate to the means of distance communication. It is further specified that it has to be in a specific section of the online interface that is directly and easily accessible from the page where the offers are presented. The information obligation also applies where a trader enables searches on an online interface by voice commands (via ‘digital assistants’), rather than through typing. Also in this case, the information must be made available for consultation on the trader’s website/application on ‘a specific section of the online interface’. The new rules on ranking transparency towards consumers (in CRD and UCPD) define ‘ranking’ in materially similar terms as the P2B Regulation. The P2B Regulation requires platforms to inform their business users through information in the platform’s business-to-business Terms and Conditions, or make information available in the pre-contractual stage. Although the respective information requirements are similar, their ‘audiences’ are different. For this reason, the new provisions in the UCPD (and in the CRD) only require ‘general’ information about the main ranking parameters and their relative importance. This difference from the P2B Regulation reflects the information needs of consumers who require concise information that is easy to understand. For the same reason, the UCPD and CRD rules also do not require an explanation of the ‘reasons’ for the relative importance of the main ranking parameters that is required by the P2B regulation. Practically speaking, the providers of online intermediation services will be able to use the more detailed information that they provide to their business users under the P2B Regulation as a basis for designing a consumer-oriented explanation of the ranking parameters. The Commission has issued guidelines on ranking transparency pursuant to the P2B regulation (348). These guidelines address several questions that are also relevant in the application of the rules of the UCPD and CRD on ranking transparency, such as the concept of ‘main parameters’, ‘relative prominence’ and ‘direct and indirect remuneration’. Disclosure of paid-for advertising and ranking Point No 11a of ANNEX I ‘11a. Providing search results in response to a consumer’s online search query without clearly disclosing any paid advertisement or payment specifically for achieving higher ranking of products within the search results.’ The new point 11a applies to any trader providing for a possibility to search for ‘products’ (i.e. goods, services, digital content), including search engines. It does not ban the inclusion of advertisements or higher ranking due to the payments received from the traders concerned, but requires the provider of the search facility to clearly inform the consumer when search results include products or websites or URLs of traders who have paid to be included in the search results (advertisement) or when the ranking is influenced by direct or indirect payments. ‘Advertisement’ refers to insertion on top or within the ‘natural’ results of listings that otherwise would not have been presented to the consumer according to the applicable objective search criteria. ‘Higher ranking’ refers to situations where the position of one or more listings in the ranking has been improved due to direct or indirect payments. Recital 20 of Directive (EU) 2019/2161 provides non-exhaustive examples of indirect payment for the purpose of higher ranking: — Acceptance by a trader of additional obligations towards the provider; — Increased commission per transaction; — Different compensation schemes that specifically lead to higher ranking; In contrast, indirect payments do not cover payments for general services, such as listing fees or membership subscriptions, which address a broad range of functionalities, provided that such payments are not dedicated to achieving higher ranking. Advertisements within search results and search results that are the object of payment specifically for achieving a higher ranking must be clearly and prominently highlighted as such. Information about the advertisement or payment specifically for achieving a higher ranking must be presented in immediate affiliation to the relevant search result in a visually salient way, that stands out from the rest of the general online interface, and in a way that the consumer cannot avoid noticing when seeing the search result. However, where payments which are made specifically for achieving a higher ranking are part of the ranking parameters and influence the ranking of all the results displayed, information about such payments can also be provided by means of a single clear and prominent statement on the search results page. Such statement should be separate and in addition to the general information about ranking parameters that traders must provide in accordance with Article 7(4a) UCPD discussed above. The Commission and national consumer authorities in the CPC network addressed the disclosure of advertising and paid ranking within search results in the joint actions regarding the Booking.com and Expedia platforms (349) (see also section 4.3.6). As a result of these actions, these platforms accepted to show on the search results page when payments affect the ranking of accommodations. They also added a link for further explanation and clearly labelled such properties. Moreover, the previous indication ‘sponsored’ was replaced with the more telling labels ‘Ad’, ‘Advert’, ‘Advertisement’, or similar equivalent text in local language, and those indications were made more prominent. For example: — A price comparison website offered to top rank the products of traders paying an additional fee. A national court ruled that consumers’ transactional decisions can be influenced by a comparative display that they might believe has no commercial intent or objective. On this basis, the comparison website’s commercial practice was qualified as misleading. The court found that the comparison tool’s failure to clearly identify this top ranking as a paid one was likely to materially distort the economic behaviour of consumers (350). — A national court found that the practice of a major comparison and booking service provider to enable hotels to manipulate the ranking by paying higher commission fees was misleading (351).

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07