Alphabet’s Google‘s proposed changes to its search results to comply with EU tech legislation has received the thumbs up from lobbying group Airlines for Europe, whose members include Air France KLM and Lufthansa.
TakeAway Points:
- Air France, KLM, and Lufthansa are among the members of the lobbying group Airlines for Europe, which has approved Alphabet’s Google’s proposed modifications to its search results to conform to EU tech laws.
- Google announced a series of changes in search result formats following conflicting demands from price-comparison sites, hotels, airlines, and small retailers, with the latest tweaks announced last month.
- The social networking company X, which is owned by Elon Musk, increased the cost of its premium-plus plan in a number of locations starting on December 21 in an effort to increase compensation for producers on its network.
Google’s proposed search result changes get thumbs up from EU airlines
Google has announced a series of changes in search result formats in recent months following conflicting demands from price-comparison sites, hotels, airlines, and small retailers, with the latest tweaks announced last month.
It is trying to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which prohibits it from favouring its own products and services on its platform or risk fines as much as 10% of its global annual turnover.
“In the spirit of finding a DMA-compliant solution in a timely fashion, the airline industry has shown it is willing to compromise,” Airlines for Europe said in a letter to the European Commission dated Dec. 20 and seen.
The airline group expressed support for the horizontal layout for same-sized boxes for airlines and comparison sites in search results, as well as the colour blue to distinguish them from other elements.
But it said prices displayed in search results should be the same in the graphic as those in the boxes. It also expressed concerns about Google’s proposal for a purely indicative date rather than specific dates for consumers looking to book flights.
“Characteristics such as dates are an integral part of the general search process of consumers looking for air travel and the switch to a purely indicative date will downgrade their experience significantly,” the group said.
Google has said it may return to an old format of 10 blue links in search results that it used years ago if its rivals – such as airlines and price comparison sites – cannot agree on its proposals to comply with the DMA and not promote its own products.
Elon Musk’s X lifts price for premium-plus tier to pay creators
Elon Musk-owned X raised the price of its premium-plus plan in several markets from Dec. 21 as the social media company looks to boost payment for creators on its platform.
The top-tier plan is now priced at $22 a month in the U.S., up from $16 earlier, according to a blog post. Prices for the basic tier and premium subscriptions remain unchanged at $3 and $8, respectively.
X changed its revenue-sharing practices in October to ensure subscription fees would more directly contribute to creator payouts and that they are compensated on content quality and engagement rather than ad views alone.
The updated pricing applies to new subscribers, while existing members will retain their current rates until Jan. 20.
X offers premium-plus subscribers ad-free browsing and features such as expanded access to the Grok AI chatbot and Radar, which offers real-time analytics on emerging trends through keyword tracking.
Subscriptions are a key part of Musk’s strategy to drive revenue growth at X, the platform which was known as Twitter before the billionaire purchased it and had long relied on advertising dollars.