EU fines Google €890 million over Search and Google Play practices
The Facts
- The European Commission fined Google a total of €890 million on Thursday over violations of the EU’s Digital Markets Act.
- The penalties were split into two decisions: €460 million related to Google Search and €430 million related to Google Play.
- EU regulators said Google gave preferential treatment to its own services in search results, including areas such as shopping, hotels, travel or sports, rather than treating rival services equally.
- The Commission also said Google Play rules restricted app developers from steering consumers to alternative purchasing channels or offers outside the Play Store.
- The case matters because it is among the first major enforcement actions against Google under the Digital Markets Act, the EU law designed to curb the market power of large digital platforms.
- Google has 60 days to comply with the Commission’s decisions or it could face additional sanctions.
- Google rejected the EU’s approach and said complying with the requirements could remove some real-time search features and weaken protections on Google Play for European users.
- The decision comes amid broader U.S.-EU trade friction, with multiple outlets noting that U.S. officials and President Donald Trump have criticized EU digital regulation and raised the possibility of retaliatory trade measures.
Context
What did the EU say Google did wrong?
The Commission said Google favored its own services in Search over rival offerings and used Google Play rules that stopped app developers from directing users to alternative, sometimes cheaper, ways to buy outside the Play Store Guardian,EL PAÍS,CNBC.
Why is this case important beyond the fine amount?
It is one of the first major enforcement actions against Google under the Digital Markets Act, the EU’s newer law for large digital platforms, so it signals how Brussels plans to enforce those rules on major tech companies BBC,Hindustan Times,CNBC.
What happens next?
Google has been told to comply within 60 days, and several reports say it could face further penalties if it does not. Google has also publicly disputed the ruling and argued the required changes could affect some features and protections offered to European users ANSA.it,Corriere della Sera,La Repubblica.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- The fines are an early, consequential test of whether the Digital Markets Act can force changes to how a dominant platform treats rivals and users.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about curbing Google’s gatekeeper power over rivals and app developers, or about regulators imposing product changes that could cost users features and protections.
How left and right read it
€890 million, split between Google Search and Google Play, marks one of the first major tests of whether the Digital Markets Act can actually check platform power. Preferencing its own services in search and blocking app developers from steering people to outside offers are exactly how gatekeepers tilt markets and narrow real choice. Enforce the rules, and make compliance real.
“Authorities have argued the biggest tech companies have become so dominant in areas like internet search, smartphones, e-commerce and social media that they serve as gatekeepers and determine the fate other businesses and can harm competition.” — The New York Times
The European Commission hit Google with €890 million in fines under the Digital Markets Act and gave it 60 days to comply or face additional sanctions. Google says compliance could strip out some real-time search features and weaken Google Play protections for European users. That puts the real question where it belongs: whether regulators are enforcing neutral rules or compelling product changes that carry real costs for users.
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Wire services (1)
Independent coverage (50)
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