Europe fined Google €890 million ($1 billion) for misusing its search engine dominance to unfairly promote its services over competitors, the EU Commission announced. This ruling is likely to escalate trade tensions between Europe and the United States as the Trump administration has criticized EU trade practices. The EU Commission noted that Google prioritized its own shopping, travel, and gaming services in search rankings while relegating rivals to lower positions.
The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) prohibits gatekeepers like Google from favoring their services in search rankings. The Commission also stated that Google blocked developers from informing users on Google Play about alternative payment methods that could reduce fees, constituting a violation of the DMA. “The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine,” said European Commission competition policy VP Teresa Ribera.
Google has 60 days to comply or face additional fines of up to 5% of its global turnover. Kent Walker, Google’s general counsel, criticized the decision, asserting it harms European users and degrades competition. He stated, “This isn’t fair competition; it’s product degradation” in response to the ruling.
This fine is less than 1% of Google’s reported $112.1 billion quarterly profit. European officials clarified that the timing of the fine was not linked to the expectation of new tariffs from the Trump administration. The U.S. government is expected to respond to the EU’s regulation of American tech firms, with some lawmakers advocating for decisive actions against such regulations.
U.S. regulators have also scrutinized Google for similar practices, including a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice in 2020, which alleged anti-competitive conduct. In a ruling from 2024, a judge labeled Google a monopolist maintaining its monopoly.
This €890 million fine is notably less than previous EU penalties against Google, which include a €4.7 billion fine regarding its Android operating system in 2018 and a €2.8 billion fine for shopping search monopolization in 2017, both of which were upheld after appeals.
