The European Commission has fined Google €890m for favouring its own apps and services, marking the first major enforcement under the Digital Markets Act. The penalty is split into €460m for biased search results in flight and hotel bookings and €430m for Play Store rules that hid cheaper offers. Google says compliance could remove features used by millions; regulators say the move is necessary to restore competition. Google has 60 days to comply or appeal.
EU Imposes €890m Fine On Google — First Major Enforcement Under The Digital Markets Act
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The European Commission has fined Google €890 million for giving preferential treatment to its own apps and services, in what is the first major enforcement under the EU's new Digital Markets Act (DMA).
What the Commission Found
Brussels said Google’s practices limited consumer choice and unfairly advantaged the company’s own services over rivals. The €890m penalty is the sum of two separate breaches identified by regulators: a €460m fine for favouring Google's own booking services in search results for flights and hotels, and a €430m fine related to Google Play rules that allegedly prevented users from seeing cheaper offers available outside Google’s marketplace.
Google's Response
Google criticised the decision and warned that complying with the DMA could require it to remove features used by millions of European customers. Kent Walker, Google’s President of Global Affairs, said the company was being forced to "strip away real-time Search features Europeans love — like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights and restaurants — and dismantle safety protections on Google Play."
"This isn't fair competition," Kent Walker said.
EU Reaction and Context
EU officials said the measures are needed to stop dominant platforms from disadvantaging competitors and to protect consumer choice. They argued that companies should win users because of the quality of their products, not because they control a dominant platform that can skew results.
The decision comes against a backdrop of previous EU actions against Google, including multiple multibillion-euro fines for different competition breaches in recent years. Regulators say the DMA gives them stronger tools to enforce fair conditions in digital markets.
External Commentary
Zach Meyers, director of research at the Centre on Regulation in Europe, said the timing of the Commission’s decision had been delayed, in part because of diplomatic sensitivities, but that regulators ultimately pressed ahead to protect regulatory credibility.
Next Steps
Google now has 60 days to bring its practices into compliance with the DMA or to challenge the Commission’s decision in court. If Google fails to comply, the EU can impose further remedies and penalties designed to ensure an open and competitive market.
Background: The DMA is a landmark law aimed at curbing the market power of so-called "gatekeeper" platforms and ensuring fairer conditions for users and competing services.
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