The European Commission has imposed €890 million in fines on Google for violations of the Digital Markets Act, marking the tech giant’s first penalties under the new regulatory framework. The fines, announced Thursday, target anti-competitive practices in both Google Search and the Play Store.
The penalties consist of two separate fines: €460 million for giving preferential placement to its own services in search results, and €430 million for preventing app developers from directing users to cheaper purchasing alternatives outside the Play Store. These represent Google’s fifth and sixth competition-related penalties from European regulators, bringing the company’s cumulative fines to €10.38 billion over nearly two decades.
What Did the Commission Find in Google Search?
The search-related fine addresses how Google handles results in categories including shopping, hotels, transport, and sports. The Commission determined that Google systematically promoted its own products over competing services in these areas. According to the regulatory body, this self-preferencing violated requirements under the Digital Markets Act to treat rivals fairly.
The Commission noted that Google has begun testing changes to how it presents its own services for free offerings like shopping, hotels, and flights. Regulators described this as substantial progress toward compliance and indicated they would continue monitoring the implementation of these solutions.
What Restrictions Did Google Place on the Play Store?
The Play Store fine targets what regulators call “steering restrictions” that prevented developers from informing users about cheaper purchasing options available outside Google’s ecosystem. These restrictions blocked app makers from telling customers they could buy the same application or subscription elsewhere for less money.
Google has been given 60 days to comply with orders requiring the company to treat rivals fairly and permit developers to redirect users away from the Play Store. Despite the scale of the penalties, the Commission indicated that ongoing daily fines for non-compliance are unlikely, citing a “constructive dialogue” with the company.
How Did Google Respond to the Fines?
Google rejected the Commission’s findings and has not ruled out legal challenges. President of Global Affairs Kent Walker argued that compliance would force Google to remove real-time search features such as hotel pricing and flight availability, and eliminate safety protections from the Play Store. Walker framed the decisions as harmful rather than protective to European users.
The Commission also noted it is currently assessing proposed changes to how Google presents shopping ads and content related to sports. The extension of regulatory scrutiny to AI-generated search features represents a significant development, as these summaries increasingly serve as the first layer of search results users encounter.
These fines follow penalties against Apple and Meta issued in April of the previous year, making them the third enforcement actions under the Digital Markets Act. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer characterized the actions as “driving massive uncertainty for U.S. exports,” though no specific retaliatory measures were announced.
Source: Security Affairs