The European Commission issued a €890m penalty against Google for violating the Digital Markets Act through practices involving its search engine and app store operations. The fine was split into two components: €460m related to search functionality and €430m concerning app store policies.
According to the Commission, Google unlawfully gave preferential treatment to its own services, including shopping and hotel booking features, over competing offerings in search results. The company also restricted app developers from steering consumers toward alternative purchasing options, including subscriptions available outside the Google Play Store or on external websites. In response, the regulator ordered Google to ensure third-party services receive fair and non-discriminatory treatment in search results and to permit app developers greater flexibility in directing users to alternative platforms.
The Commission noted Google had already begun implementing changes to its search result display methodology. Officials characterized these modifications as demonstrating meaningful movement toward compliance requirements. An EU representative indicated that consumers across Europe would experience tangible differences in search functionality, with the company required to modify its search engine operations going forward.
Critics argued the penalty was insufficient relative to Google’s scale. Max von Thun of the Open Markets Institute Europe characterized the fine as minimal given the company’s annual revenues exceeded $400bn, urging swift enforcement action against the identified anti-competitive practices.
Google indicated it would pursue appeal options and requested interim relief measures. The company’s leadership contended the ruling would degrade service quality by eliminating real-time search capabilities and compromising safety protections. The decision followed previous DMA penalties imposed on Apple and Meta, which faced fines of €500m and €200m respectively for similar alleged violations.
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