The European Commission opened, on Wednesday (21), a formal investigation against Booking.com to assess whether the platform complies with its fraud-prevention and transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The procedure covers fake accommodation listings, phishing scams related to reservations and the identification of sponsored accommodations in search results.
One of the lines of inquiry examines whether the company took sufficient measures to identify and remove fraudulent offers, including nonexistent properties, listings that improperly use the identity of property owners and accommodations that do not meet the applicable requirements.
The second involves phishing scams that exploit guest and reservation information. The Commission will analyze how this data is shared with establishments and how the platform's messaging system works, especially given the risk of criminals using the context of legitimate reservations to request fraudulent payments.
Investigation also questions the identification of sponsored accommodations
Another concern of European authorities involves the presentation of search results. Establishments can pay higher commissions to gain visibility on Booking.com, but the Commission questions whether these sponsored positions are clearly identified as advertising.
The regulator will also verify whether consumers can identify who funds the ads, why certain results are shown and what controls are available over the advertising received.
The investigation was initiated after a preliminary analysis of risk assessment reports submitted by the company and of information previously requested by European authorities.
Booking.com told Reuters that it is cooperating with the Commission and highlighted its commitment to user safety and combating digital fraud.
The opening of the proceeding does not represent a conclusion of infringement. If violations of the DSA are proven, the company could face penalties of up to 6% of its annual global turnover. The Commission could also accept commitments presented by the platform to resolve the identified problems.
