The European Commission announced on July 22 that it has fined Google a total of 8.9 billion euros (approximately 10.4 billion US dollars) for violating the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The penalties imposed on Google revolve around two main infractions. Firstly, Google’s search service was found to favor its own products, giving them priority visibility in search results, including shopping, hotel, transportation (flights), and sports services. This practice prevents third-party competitors from receiving fair exposure, thus violating the DMA’s requirement for “Gatekeepers” to provide fair, transparent, and non-discriminatory treatment in search rankings.
The other violation concerns the Google Play app store. The EU determined that Google restricted app developers from freely directing users to lower-priced options offered on official websites or third-party stores. Additionally, the charges related to redirection fees and charging periods imposed by Google exceeded the compliance standards set by the DMA.
For these two violations, the EU imposed the following fines:
– Favoring search services: 4.6 billion euros (approximately 5.4 billion US dollars)
– Google Search redirection restrictions: 4.3 billion euros (approximately 5.0 billion US dollars)
The EU has demanded that Google cease the illicit activities and implement improvement measures within 60 days. Failure to comply may result in Google facing periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of its global turnover.
Furthermore, the EU disclosed that Google has begun testing adjustments to search presentations, including shopping, flights, sports content, as well as AI Overviews and AI Mode features. The EU will continue monitoring the progress of these corrective measures.
Google retains the right to appeal the Commission’s penalty decision.