Brussels.- The European Commission imposed two fines on Google this Thursday totaling 890 million euros for prioritizing its own services in its search engine and for preventing mobile app developers from informing users, free of charge, about cheaper offers outside of Google Play.
The EU Executive considers that it has infringed the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which regulates free competition among large technology companies in the European Union, and in addition to the sanction, it has forced it to put an end to these practices within 60 days, otherwise, it could penalize it with additional periodic fines.
Fines
The first of the fines amounts to 460 million euros for prioritizing its own services in its search engine results – such as those for shopping (Google Shopping), hotel search, transport, and sports results – over those of its competitors.
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Brussels accuses it of highlighting its services at the top of the results page or doing so through the use of visual elements and enhanced filters.
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The second of the fines is 430 million euros for placing restrictions on mobile application developers who use Google Play, preventing them from directing their customers to their websites or to app stores other than Google Play to offer them cheaper services than those they can provide through Google products.
The DMA allows Google to charge a fee to app developers for every new customer they acquire through Google Play, but the European Commission considers the amount to be too high.
The EU Executive has ordered the tech company to change its practices within 60 days to treat its rivals in a “fair and non-discriminatory” manner in search results and to allow app developers to inform users of cheaper offers.
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If you do not do so, you could be subject to periodic penalties of up to 5% of your total annual global turnover.
The amount of both fines is much lower than others that have been imposed on the company, such as the 4.343 billion euro fine in 2018 for abuse of dominant position through its Android operating system -which the EU Court of Justice later reduced to 4.125 billion- or the 2.424 billion fine in 2017 for prioritizing its services in Google Shopping.
This is because the new sanctions have not been applied based on traditional antitrust rules, but on the DMA, in force since 2022, so the period of the infringement -from March 2024 to December 2025- is relatively short and because Google has already started to implement some changes.
This was explained to a small group of media outlets, including EFE, by Vice Presidents Teresa Ribera and Henna Virkkunen, who are in charge of Competition and digital regulation policies, respectively.
United States
Regarding the possible reprisals that US President Donald Trump may take against the EU for the fines imposed on Google, Ribera pointed out that the European Commission is “obliged” to comply with community rules and to enforce international law, “which is being questioned in many parts.”
“I don’t think any of us, in the Commission, could be respected if we decided what to do because someone is trying to tell us what we have to do or not do,” added the vice president.
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Google’s reaction
Google challenged the fine, arguing that “the DMA continues to harm the functioning of everyday products,” according to a statement by Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs at Google and Alphabet.
“To comply with regulations, we are forced to remove real-time search features that Europeans value, such as instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants, and to dismantle Google Play security measures,” he added.
“This is not fair competition, it is a degradation of the product driven by a small group of people complaining for their own self-interest, harming European companies and consumers. Regulation should improve products, not make them worse,” he continued.
Teresa Ribera, on the fine for Google
For her part, the European Commission Vice-President in charge of Competition policy, the Spaniard Teresa Ribera, stated this Thursday that the fines that Brussels has imposed on Google today are “an obvious example of sovereignty and responsibility”.
Asked about the possible reprisals that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, may adopt against the European Union for the sanctions on the tech company, Ribera said that the European Commission is “subject to the law” and has to sanction companies that fail to comply with community rules.
“Imagine if we could decide whether or not to apply the law because we are afraid,” the vice president pointed out in a meeting with a small number of media outlets, including EFE, to explain the reasons for the sanctions.
