EU fines Google $1 billion over digital antitrust breaches

The European Union fined Google 890 million euros, or about $1 billion, on Thursday, saying the company used Google Play and its search engine to steer users toward its own services and apps at the expense of rivals.

The penalty marks one of Brussels’ largest actions under the Digital Markets Act, the competition law that took effect in 2024 and is aimed at curbing what EU officials describe as Big Tech’s excesses in digital markets. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, said the case centered on consumer choice and fair access for competitors.

“The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine,” said Teresa Ribera, the commission’s executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition. “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 said businesses in the EU “have the right to compete fairly,” while “gatekeepers have the obligation to ensure a level playing field and consumers the right to choose for cheaper alternative offers.”

Google rejected the decision. Kent Walker, the company’s president of global affairs, said the EU rules were forcing Google “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,” Walker said. Reuters quoted him as calling the case “product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants, with European businesses and consumers taking the hit,” adding that “regulation should improve products, not make them worse.”

The fine comes after Google recently lost its appeal of a $4.5 billion EU antitrust penalty tied to the dominance of its Android mobile operating system, which regulators said had throttled competition and reduced consumer choice. Google has faced repeated EU penalties: between 2017 and 2019, the bloc fined the company a total of 8.2 billion euros, or $9.3 billion, and Brussels imposed a separate 2.95 billion euro, or $3.4 billion, fine under different antitrust rules in September last year, Al Jazeera reported.

Al Jazeera also reported that the Google fine is the largest total penalty against one company under the Digital Markets Act, following EU fines in 2025 of 200 million euros against Meta and 500 million euros against Apple. The EU can fine companies up to 10% of their total global turnover for DMA violations. A second EU official said the Google fine amounted to 0.22% of the company’s turnover.

The commission said the penalties could increase if Google does not comply within 60 days, warning of possible “periodic penalty payments.”

The decision also comes amid tensions between Brussels and Washington over the EU’s digital regulations. Al Jazeera reported that some 25 Republican lawmakers in the United States urged President Donald Trump this week to use tools against what they called the EU’s “discriminatory” digital rules, including trade investigations that could lead to higher levies. Ribera said Thursday that the EU’s duty is to ensure regulations adopted by its institutions are “fully enforced and respected,” and said U.S. authorities were handling “very similar approaches.”