The European Union has fined Google 890 million euros ($1 billion), saying that the company abused its dominance in online search by favouring its own services over rivals and breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the bloc’s landmark competition law for major technology platforms.
The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, said on Thursday that Google systematically manipulated search results to promote its own shopping, translation, travel and gaming services while pushing competing platforms lower in rankings.
Regulators concluded that the practice violated the Digital Markets Act, a 2022 law intended to prevent large digital platforms from using their market power to disadvantage competitors.
The Commission also found that Google imposed restrictive conditions within its Google Play app ecosystem, preventing developers from directing users to alternative payment options or carrying out external transactions that bypassed Google’s own fee system.
“The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine,” said Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s Executive Vice President for Competition Policy.
Google has been given 60 days to change its business practices and improve the visibility of competing online services. Failure to comply could result in daily penalties of up to five percent of the company’s global revenue.
Kent Walker, Google’s General Counsel, rejected the Commission’s findings, arguing that the required changes would worsen the user experience in Europe.
“This isn’t fair competition; it’s product degradation,” Walker said. “Regulation should improve products, not make them worse.”
The ruling comes amid strained trade relations between Brussels and Washington.
The White House is expected to announce new tariffs on the European Union and other trading partners on Friday, while President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised foreign regulatory action against American technology companies.
In December, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative signalled possible retaliatory measures against European companies, including Spotify, Siemens and Mistral.
The latest penalty adds to more than 10 billion euros in antitrust fines imposed on Google in Europe since 2017. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reported quarterly profits of $112.1 billion on Wednesday.
Google also faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny in the United States following a major monopoly case.
