The European Commission imposes two fines totaling 890 million euros on Google for violating the Digital Markets Act

Brussels, July 23 (KUNA) -- The European Commission announced on Thursday the imposition of two fines on the American company Google, the first amounting to 460 million euros for practices favoring its own services, and the second totaling 430 million euros for practices restricting the redirection of users to alternative offers.

The Commission stated in a press release that the fines were imposed due to Google’s failure to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), following its preference for its own services in Google Search results and the imposition of restrictions on companies that prevented them from directing consumers to alternative purchasing channels, which are often less expensive, via the Google Play Store.

It added that the DMA requires large companies acting as “gatekeepers” not to grant their own services preferential treatment in search result rankings compared to those of other parties, and to apply transparent, fair, and non-discriminatory conditions to ranking processes.

The Commission noted that its investigation concluded that Google granted preferential treatment to its own services, including shopping, hotel, transport, and sports results, at the expense of other parties’ services in Google Search, constituting a breach of its obligations under the DMA. It pointed out that Google displayed its own services more prominently in search results, including by placing them at the top of the results page or using enhanced images and filters, while similar services from other parties did not receive the same level of visibility.

Regarding Google’s practices on user redirection, the Commission stated that app developers distributing their apps via Google Play must be able to inform customers free of charge about alternative offers, which are often less expensive, and direct them to complete purchases either through websites or alternative app stores.

The investigation found that Google failed to comply with this obligation, noting that the company prevented app developers from freely communicating and promoting offers and concluding contracts with users through distribution channels of their choice, including third-party app stores.

It clarified that Google could charge fees for facilitating an app developer’s initial acquisition of a new customer via the Google Play Store; however, the level of fees associated with redirecting users and the duration of their application exceeded what is considered compliant with the DMA.

These two fines represent the largest total fines imposed by the European Commission on a single company under the DMA, following the imposition in 2025 of fines worth 200 million and 500 million euros on the American companies Meta and Apple, respectively. (End) A.R.N / A.M.H