The European Commission has fined Google a total of €890 million (£760 million) for breaching online competition laws through its search and app store services. The fine comprises €460 million for search-related violations and €430 million for app store infractions.
Details of the violations
The Commission, the EU's executive arm, determined that Google violated the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by giving preferential treatment to its own services—such as shopping and hotel deals—in search results over those of rivals. Additionally, Google infringed the DMA by preventing app developers from directing consumers to cheaper offers, including subscriptions, on websites or alternative app stores.
The Commission has ordered Google to treat third-party services appearing in its search results in a “fair and non-discriminatory manner” and to allow app developers to make offers outside Google’s app store. The Commission noted that Google has already begun testing changes to how it displays search results featuring its own services, describing these changes as “substantial progress towards compliance.”
Impact on consumers and market
A senior EU official stated that consumers would directly benefit from the decision. “Research results will be different in Europe. They will have to adapt their search engine going forward,” the official said.
Max von Thun, director of the Open Markets Institute Europe thinktank, called the fines the “bare minimum” for a company that generated over $400 billion in revenue last year. “Having finally established Google’s non-compliance, the commission must now move quickly to force Google to end its anti-competitive practices once and for all. Europe’s startups and innovators cannot wait much longer,” he said.
Political context and reactions
The decision to impose the fine risks provoking a reaction from US President Donald Trump, just hours before a series of temporary global tariffs against about 60 countries are set to expire. A senior EU official said they had no knowledge of how Trump might react, insisting that the bloc has the “sovereign right” to regulate US tech companies within its jurisdiction and that the timing of the fine was not connected to the tariffs.
Last year, Apple and Meta were also fined under the DMA. Apple was ordered to pay €500 million for anti-competitive practices at its app store, and Meta was fined €200 million for its ad-free “consent or pay” proposal for Facebook and Instagram.
Google can appeal the decision and request interim measures, including a suspension of the order. Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, described the fine as “product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants” that would negatively impact European businesses and consumers. He argued that the DMA forces Google “to strip away real-time search features Europeans love – like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants – and dismantle safety protections on Google Play.”
