This is due to the new Google search penalty for back button hijacking.

Google is putting its foot down on "back button hijacking," an infamous deceptive practice where users are kept on a long loop of pressing the back button but are either not brought anywhere or ...

Have you ever been trapped by a web page, unable to use the back button to get back to the site you were previously browsing, powerless to do anything but sigh and sacrifice the whole browser tab?

In short: Google is classifying “back button hijacking” as spam, targeting sites that abuse the browser History API to trap users when they try to navigate away. Enforcement begins 15 June 2026, with ...

PCWorld reports that Google will penalize websites that hijack the browser’s back button, a manipulative practice that redirects users to unwanted pages or ads. This new spam policy violation, ...

Google has formulated a new anti-spam policy stating that when a user presses the browser's 'back' button, it should perform the action they expect: 'return to the previous page.' 'Back button ...

Something to look forward to: Google has announced that it will begin penalizing websites that interfere with the normal functioning of a web browser's back button. Known as back button hijacking, ...

Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games. He's previously covered mobile devices, home energy products and broadband. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he graduated ...