European Union regulators said Thursday they�re investigating whether Google is unfairly demoting some content from media publishers in search results under a policy the company says is aimed at combating scammers.

Brussels moved forward despite the risk of incurring the wrath of President Donald Trump, who has lashed out at the 27-nation bloc�s digital regulations and vowed to retaliate if American tech companies are penalized.

The investigation could result in the latest multibillion-euro fine for the U.S. digital giant from the European Commission, which is the bloc�s highest antitrust enforcer.

�We are concerned that Google�s policies do not allow news publishers to be treated in a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory manner in its search results,� said Teresa Ribera, an executive vice-president at the Commission.

�We will investigate to ensure that news publishers are not losing out on important revenues at a difficult time for the industry, and to ensure Google complies with the Digital Markets Act,� Ribera added, referring to the bloc�s sweeping rulebook designed to stop tech companies from monopolizing digital markets.

The commission, the EU�s executive branch, said it had received indications that Google is demoting certain search results according to its site reputation abuse policy.

But Google said the policy protects European users from �deceptive, low quality content and scams� and �shady tactics� used to promote them so that they show up in search results.

Pandu Nayak, chief scientist at Google Search, said in a blog post that the company said it’s trying to prevent spammers from abusing search results by buying paid-for content on a publisher�s website to trick readers into clicking on low-quality content.

Nayak said the investigation was misguided and without merit.

�Unfortunately, the investigation announced today into our anti-spam efforts is entirely misguided and risks harming millions of European users,� Google Search�s chief scientist, Pandu Nayak, said in a blog post.

�If we allowed this behavior � letting sites use sketchy tactics to boost their ranking, instead of investing in creating high-quality content � it would enable bad actors to displace sites that don�t use those spammy tactics, and it would degrade Search for everyone,� Nayak said.

But the Commission said the policy hurts �a common and legitimate way for publishers to monetize their websites and content� and could violate the DMA�s rules requiring digital gatekeepers like Google to treat other businesses fairly.

The EU drew outrage from Trump in September, when it fined Google 2.95 billion euro ($3.5 billion) for breaching the 27-nation bloc�s competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services. It was the fourth time Brussels has sanctioned Google with a multibillion-euro fine in an antitrust case, in a wider battle with between the EU and Big Tech that dates back to 2017.

The EU�s new investigation must conclude within 12 months. It could fine Google parent Alphabet 10% or more of annual global revenue. The Commission said it could even dismantle and sell off parts of its business.

(AP)