EU Commission fines Google $1.02B over Digital Markets Act breaches

The European Commission fined Google €890 million ($1.02 billion) on Thursday for breaching the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) through self-preferencing in search results and restrictions imposed on app developers.

The commission imposed a €460 million (about $525 million) fine after finding that Google favored its own shopping, hotel, transport, and sports services over competing services in its search results.

Google displayed its services more prominently, including at the top of results pages and through enhanced visuals and filters, while comparable third-party services were not given the same visibility, it said.

A separate €430 million (about $491 million) fine concerned Google’s “anti-steering” practices on its Play Store.

The commission said Google prevented app developers from freely informing users about alternative and potentially cheaper offers or directing them to make purchases through websites and third-party app stores.

It also found that Google’s steering-related fees and the period during which they were charged exceeded what was permitted under the DMA.

Google was ordered to end both violations and comply with the decisions within 60 days. Failure to do so could result in periodic penalties of up to 5% of its total worldwide turnover.

“The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine,” said European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera.

The commission said Google has begun testing changes to its search results and steering rules. It is also assessing the company’s proposals concerning AI Overviews and AI Mode.