EU wants Google, Microsoft to be more transparent about ads in search results

The European Union's digital chief says he is worried about how clear some search engines are when displaying advertisements in search results

The European Union's digital chief wants search engines such as Alphabet Inc's Google and Microsoft's Bing to be more transparent about advertising in web search results but ruled out a separate law for web platforms.

European Commission vice-president Andrus Ansip, who is overseeing a wide-ranging inquiry into how web platforms conduct their business, said on Friday the EU executive would not take a horizontal approach to regulating online services.