The European Union has fined Google €890 million (about $1 billion) for breaches of the Digital Markets Act. Specifically, over anti-competitive behavior with Google Search and Google Play.
"Today, the European Commission took two decisions finding non-compliance by Google with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for self-preferencing its own services on Google Search, and for putting in place restrictions on businesses to direct consumers to alternative, often cheaper, purchase channels on Google Play (steering). In this regard, the Commission issued Google a fine of €460 million and a fine of €430 million respectively," the EU commission wrote.
So there are two different fines:
- Self-Preferencing on Google Search for €460 million fine. This is for Google systematically favoring its own vertical services such as Google Shopping, Hotels, Transport, and Sports results over third-party competitors. Google is said to have displayed its own services at the top of search results pages with enhanced visual features and filters, giving competitors less visibility.
- Anti-Steering Rules on Google Play for €430 million fine. This is for Google restricting app developers from informing customers, free of charge, about cheaper alternative purchasing options outside the Google Play Store. It hindered developers from freely promoting offers or concluding contracts via third-party app stores or websites, while charging excessive steering fees for long periods.
Google has 60 days to implement non-discriminatory search rankings and allow developers full contractual freedom to direct users off-platform. Failure to comply risks periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of Google's global turnover.
Google has already begun testing changes to its search display, shopping ads, and app store steering terms, while discussing how these principles apply to features like AI Overviews and AI Mode. We even saw changes to hotel results in the EU this morning.
This should come as no surprise as we saw this coming.
There is more coverage of this on Techmeme.
Forum discussion at X.
