Google To Pay $1.3M For Misleading Star Ratings For Hotels In France

Google’s fine in France of 1.1 million euros ($1.3 million) might seem small, but the reason behind the fine will hurt the company’s reputation much more than the financial loss.

An investigation by the Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and the Repression of Fraud (DGCCRF) that began in 2019 determined that there had been misleading ranking of hotels by Google, specifically on Google’s search engine.

Google had replaced the Atout France classification with its own algorithmic rating system for hotels in its search and maps platforms with a star-rating system powered by its own criteria. In fact, Google applied it to more than 7,500 locations.