La European Commission ha Google fined two times for a total of 890 million euros, contesting the American group's violation of the obligations provided for from Digital Markets Act. The decisions concern the preferential treatment given to the tech giant's services within the search engine and the restrictions imposed on developers distributing their apps through Google Play. The two fines amount to €460 million and €430 million, respectively. Google will now have 60 days to comply to Brussels' demands. Otherwise, the Alphabet-controlled company could face periodic penalties of up to 5% of its global turnover.
The new sanction marks a further step in the European Union's confrontation with major digital platforms. The Commission intends to prevent companies considered "gatekeepers"—operators capable of controlling access to particularly significant digital markets—from using this position to favor their own products or hinder competition.
Google and preferential treatment in search results
La first decision concerns Google Search and carries a fine of 460 million euros. According to the Commission, the search engine would have given greater visibility to services belonging to the same group compared to those offered by competing companies.
The Digital Markets Act establishes that gatekeepers cannot treat their own services more favorably than those of third parties and must apply transparent, fair, and non-discriminatory conditions. According to Brussels, Google failed to comply with this principle in presenting results relating to, among other things, purchases, accommodations, transportation, and sports competitions. Google services would have been shown in more obvious positions, even at the top of the results pages, benefiting from images, filters, and advanced search tools. Competing platforms, on the other hand, would not have had the opportunity to achieve the same visibility.
The Commission therefore asked the group to change how the search engine works, ensuring that external services receive "fair and non-discriminatory" treatment compared to those controlled directly by Google. The company has already proposed and begun testing some changes to the way free services related to shopping, hotels, and flights are displayed. Brussels has called these solutions "substantial progress" towards compliance with the regulation and will monitor their implementation.
They are also under study changes to the presentation of commercial advertisements and news content, including sports content. The Commission also took note of Google's guidance on the application of the new rules to AI-generated overviews and the search engine's AI mode.
Google and the contested restrictions on the Play Store
La second sanction, equal to 430 million euros, It concerns Google Play and the conditions applied to application developers.
The Digital Markets Act provides that companies that distribute apps through the Play Store can inform their customers free of charge about the'existence of alternative offers, even cheaper ones, available on other sites or platforms. Developers must also be able to direct users to these channels to complete purchases outside of the Google ecosystem.
According to the Commission, the American group would have instead hindered the possibility for developers to freely communicate and promote alternative offers, concluding contracts with users through distribution channels of their own choosing, including third-party app stores. Brussels does not in principle challenge Google's right to receive a commission for facilitating the initial acquisition of a customer through the Play Store. However, the level of commissions applied when a user is directed to an external channel and the length of time during which such payments continue to be requested.
The Commission considers that these conditions are go beyond what is permitted by the Digital Markets ActGoogle will therefore have to intervene on both a technical and contractual level, allowing developers to inform users, promote offers, and complete purchases even outside the Play Store. In this area, too, the company has already presented some changes. The European executive has spoken of “good progress” towards compliance, while confirming that the fines reflect the seriousness and duration of the violations found.
European pressure on major platforms
The fine against Google is part of a larger broad regulatory offensive by the European Union against digital multinationals. In the previous days, Brussels had asked the same group to share some of the data collected through the search engine with competitors. The Commission also addressed protests in Meta due to the potential risks of addiction associated with Facebook and Instagram apps. On the e-commerce front, sanctions have also been imposed on Chinese platforms. Temu and AliExpress, accused of not having evaluated the products offered for sale online with sufficient diligence.
The decision against Google confirms the European will to limit the ability of Big Tech to use control of their platforms to influence market access. An orientation that has fueled tensions with the United States, where European rules have been criticized for being detrimental to American technology companies, even with the threat of possible trade countermeasures.
Google challenges the rules: "They harm products and users."
The response from the American group was clear. Kent WalkerGoogle's president, Walker, argued that the implementation of the Digital Markets Act continues to "harm everyday products," forcing the company to eliminate some features popular with European users. Among the tools he cited are real-time information on hotel, flight, and restaurant prices and availability. According to Walker, the EU decisions do not represent a form of fair competition, but instead result in "product degradation" driven by the demands of a limited number of competing companies, to the detriment of European businesses and consumers.
Google recalled having held approximately thirty bilateral meetings with the European Commission in an attempt to resolve the disputes. A company representative also stated that the rules introduced by the Digital Markets Act would cause companies to lose revenue estimated at €114 billion. The company also fears that removing or limiting certain features could lead to a significant drop in traffic to the affected services and sites.
