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EU Fines Google 890 Million Euros for Antitrust Violations — AI-generated representative image: The European Commission headquarters in Brussels, where regulators fined Google 890 million euros for antitrust violations.

Editorial Team

Largest single-company penalty under the Digital Markets Act targets Google's self-preferencing practices.

The European Union has fined Google 890 million euros ($1 billion) for violating the bloc's digital antitrust rules, accusing the technology giant of unfairly steering users of Google Play and its search engine toward its own services and apps at the expense of competitors. The European Commission announced the penalty on Thursday, marking the latest and largest action against a single company under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which took effect in 2024.

The fine underscores Brussels' determination to enforce its digital competition framework against the world's largest technology firms. The commission said the action was taken in the interest of consumers, who it argues have the right to access alternative offers without interference from dominant platforms acting as gatekeepers.

Major Penalties and Regulatory Actions

The 890-million-euro fine is the largest imposed on a single company under the DMA, surpassing earlier penalties of 200 million euros ($228 million) against Meta and 500 million euros ($570 million) against Apple, both levied in 2025. The EU can impose fines of up to 10 percent of a company's total global turnover for breaching the DMA. A second EU official said the fine represents 0.22 percent of Google's turnover.

The commission warned that the fines could increase if Google fails to comply within 60 days, threatening the company with periodic penalty payments. The penalty comes after a probe that began in 2024, though Brussels has faced claims of delaying the move over concerns about straining ties with Washington.

History of EU Antitrust Actions Against Google

Google has faced repeated antitrust penalties from the EU. Between 2017 and 2019, the bloc imposed fines totaling 8.2 billion euros ($9.3 billion) on the company in three separate cases. In September last year, Brussels levied a 2.95-billion-euro ($3.4 billion) fine under different antitrust rules, a move that prompted then-U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten retaliation against the EU.

More recently, Google lost an appeal against a $4.5 billion antitrust fine related to the dominance of its mobile Android operating system, which the EU said throttled competition and reduced consumer choice. The DMA, which came into effect in 2024, was designed to rein in what the EU views as excessive market power held by Big Tech firms.

Official Statements and Company Response

Teresa Ribera, the European Commission's executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition, said: "The best products should succeed because they're better, not because they're owned by the company running the search engine. And European consumers have a right to be told by app developers where to sign up to the best offers, even when the app store owner does not get a cut."

European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier added: "In the EU, businesses have the right to compete fairly. Gatekeepers have the obligation to ensure a level playing field and consumers the right to choose for cheaper alternative offers."

Google's head of global affairs, Kent Walker, pushed back against the ruling, saying 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." He added: "This isn't fair competition."

What Comes Next

Google has 60 days to comply with the commission's requirements or face additional periodic penalty payments. The EU and the U.S. agreed this year to address frictions linked to the bloc's digital rules through talks, but those discussions have yet to begin. Meanwhile, 25 U.S. lawmakers from the Republican Party urged President Trump in a letter on Tuesday to use trade investigations and other tools against what they called the EU's discriminatory digital rules, a move that could lead to higher tariffs.