Tuta, formerly Tutanota, has lodged a complaint under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) against Google with the EU. The complaint alleges that Google is using Search to undermine the business of rivals like Tuta.
The company asserts that since March 2024, its website, tuta.com, has seen a significant decline in search rankings on Google. According to Tuta, the downranking of tuta.com by Google’s search algorithm has resulted in a drastic 74% drop in search impressions since March, with a decline of more than 90% for non-branded keywords.
This decline in search rankings coincides with Google’s March 2024 core update. Despite Tuta’s attempts to engage with Google regarding this issue, they have encountered obstacles and have been unable to resolve the matter.
The DMA is meant to level the playing ground between competitors
EU’s DMA targets ‘gatekeepers’ like Alphabet, Google’s parent, to stop unfair product prioritization due to market dominance. Tuta’s screenshots show ‘tutanota login’ searches on Google lead to its email app on the Play Store’s top result. This contrasts with the search results on other platforms like DuckDuckGo and Bing that return direct links to Tuta Mail.
Gmail is Tuta’s major competitor
Despite Gmail’s popularity, some individuals are migrating to alternative email providers that promise better privacy. Given that Tuta Mail competes with Google’s Gmail, Tuta suspects that Google’s downranking of its service may violate the Digital Markets Act.
This isn’t the first time Tuta has accused a major tech company of maltreating rivals. In 2023, Tuta experienced issues with Microsoft Outlook marking @tutanota.com email addresses as spam. In this case, the problem was only resolved after a journalist complained about it.
According to the BBC, Google Search has denied the allegations from its rival. A Google spokesperson stated that search ranking updates are designed to be impartial and do not show preference towards Google or its products.
