2024-03-08 22:15:35
Anyone who searches for the address of a place on Google can no longer click on the map that appears in the results. Why is that?
It only took a few clicks and you were there: If you wanted to find out the address of a restaurant or a tourist attraction in Google search, for example, you only had to enter the name and Google would spit out the result using its Google Maps service. But now the map section shown is only static. If you try to click on it, you won’t get anywhere.
The reason for this is the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a European regulation that has been in force since March 6th (more on this here). It is intended to curb some anti-competitive practices by large tech companies and currently applies to Google parent Alphabet, but also to Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and ByteDance as well as 22 platforms that belong to these companies. These include, for example, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube – and also Google Maps.
Trick out changes in Google Maps
The regulation means that Google is no longer allowed to place its own products preferentially in search results. As a result, Google Maps will no longer appear at the top when you search for specific locations. The flight comparison service Google Flights no longer appears at the top of the results when you google flight connections.
However, you can get around the static map section of Google Maps with a trick: click on the route planner button instead of directly on the map. This will then take you to Google Maps.
If you don’t mind being logged in to your Google account all the time when you’re online, you can also link Google Search to Google Maps by default. To do this, go to your Google account settings and activate the connection.