Turkey’s Transport Minister Abdülkadir Uraloğlu claims that Google’s August 2024 algorithm update caused significant traffic losses to Turkish news outlets, denouncing it as unfair and unacceptable.
Turkish media outlets’ 90% traffic decline
Google said its August 2024 algorithm update would help publishers and small independent site owners by rewarding those who create helpful, high-quality, original content and penalizing content designed to rank high in search results.
Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, confirmed this at the time:
- “Today, we launched our August 2024 core update to Google Search. This update is designed to continue our work to improve the quality of our search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.”
Turkey’s Transport Minister claims that the update has negatively affected Turkish media outlets, with many reporting a 90% decrease in traffic from Google’s News and Discovery platforms since the update.
Turkey’s minister demands a fair ecosystem
During an interview on January 27, Turkey’s Transport Minister Abdülkadir Uraloğlu told online news portal Oda TV that Google’s August 2024 algorithm update unfairly hurt the country’s internet media outlets, causing a devastating drop in traffic.
Abdülkadir Uraloğlu said the current situation jeopardizes Turkey’s media organizations’ sustainability and is unacceptable.
The minister said during the interview:
- “It is a fact that Google’s August 2024 algorithm update, which has drawn global attention, has negatively affected Turkish internet media. This is unacceptable,”
Uraloğlu emphasized Turkey needs a fair internet ecosystem, saying:
- “Our stance is clear: Turkey’s internet ecosystem must function fairly, and no one should face unilateral sanctions or unfair competition.”
Turkey says Google subject to regulations
Turkey’s Competition Authority already ruled that Google’s advertising technology services violated the country’s competition laws and imposed a 2.61 billion lire ($75 million) fine.
Abdülkadir Uraloğlu mentioned this in this interview, adding that Google is subject to Turkey’s regulations and authorities would begin taking measures against it for the damage caused by the August 2024 algorithm changes.
Uraloğlu was keen to point out that talks with Google are ongoing:
- “Beyond this, we are also maintaining necessary contacts to ensure Turkish media receives better and fairer service.”
Google accepts damaging Turkish media outlets
Minister Uraloğlu said that during his meeting with Google officials, they confirmed that the 2024 algorithm update did not target any specific sites; however, they accepted it had negatively affected a large percentage of the country’s online media organizations.
Uraloğlu finished his interview by emphasizing that he told Google its updates should not unfairly harm Turkey’s media organizations and that Turkish authorities would continue monitoring the situation to ensure Google complies.
