Google has been fined €890 million (£759 million) by the European Union after regulators concluded the company abused its dominant market position by giving preferential treatment to its own apps and digital services over those of competitors.
The penalty marks the first major enforcement action against Google under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), legislation introduced to promote fair competition and reduce the influence of the world’s largest technology companies.
According to the European Commission, Google’s business practices restricted consumer choice by prioritising its own products and services in ways that placed rival platforms at a competitive disadvantage.
Google strongly criticised the ruling, arguing that the DMA requirements could reduce the quality and functionality of services relied upon by millions of users across Europe.
Kent Walker, Google’s President of Global Affairs, said complying with the regulations would require the company to remove popular real-time Search features, including instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights and restaurants, while also weakening safety protections within the Google Play Store.
He argued that the changes would negatively affect the user experience and maintained that the Commission’s decision does not promote genuine competition.
European Union officials rejected Google’s claims, stating that the Digital Markets Act is designed to prevent dominant digital platforms from using their market power to unfairly disadvantage competing businesses.
The total €890 million fine consists of two separate breaches of the Digital Markets Act identified during the Commission’s investigation.
The European Commission imposed a €460 million penalty after concluding that Google unfairly promoted its own flight and hotel booking services above competing platforms within Search results.
A further €430 million fine was issued over Google Play Store policies, with regulators finding that the company failed to allow users to easily access cheaper offers available through alternative marketplaces outside its own app store.
Google has faced multiple competition investigations in Europe over the past decade and has previously been ordered to pay billions of euros in fines in separate antitrust cases involving its digital business practices.
EU Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera said companies should earn success through innovation and the quality of their products and services, rather than by leveraging their dominant market position to gain an unfair competitive advantage.
