EU imposes €890 million fine on Google for Digital Markets Act breaches

The European Commission announced on Thursday that it has fined Google €890 million for breaching the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and ordered the company to modify how it ranks rival services in search results and how it manages its Play Store app marketplace. The penalty consists of a €460 million fine for self-preferencing in search, where Google was found to give its own shopping, hotel, transport and sports listings more prominent placement than competitors, and a €430 million fine for restricting app developers from informing users about cheaper offers outside the Play Store and for charging steering-related fees beyond the limits set by the DMA.

"Google has fallen short of effective compliance with the Digital Markets Act, and today we have taken decisive yet balanced enforcement action sanctioning these breaches," said Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s executive vice-president for competition policy.

Google’s president of global affairs, Kent Walker, said the rulings would force the company to remove real-time search features such as instant pricing for hotels and flights and to weaken safety protections on the Play Store. He described the Commission’s actions as "product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants" and said Google is evaluating its options, including an appeal.

The company has until late September—roughly 60 days—to implement the required changes or face additional infringement proceedings that could impose daily penalties of up to 5 percent of Alphabet’s worldwide turnover. Ribera warned that further sanctions would compel Google to present a serious compliance proposal, emphasizing that the regulation aims to ensure well-functioning markets rather than punish firms.

The Commission noted that Google has already begun testing some adjustments, such as altering the display of free services like shopping, hotels and flights, and said talks are ongoing regarding the application of the rules to Google’s AI features. The fine is considerably lower than previous antitrust penalties against Google, reflecting the DMA’s focus on corrective measures rather than punitive damages.