EU Fines Google €890 Million for Violating Digital Markets Act

By Staff, Agencies

The European Commission has imposed €890 million, about $1 billion, in new fines on Google for anti-competitive practices, days after confirming that a separate €4.6 billion penalty against the company will be used to help reduce the European Union's budget deficit.

The Commission announced two separate fines on Thursday under the Digital Markets Act.

Google was fined €460 million for giving preferential treatment to its own services, including shopping and travel products, over those of competitors in search results.

A second fine of €430 million was imposed for preventing app developers using the Google Play Store from directing users to cheaper offers available through competing app marketplaces.

EU Executive Vice President for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen said the Digital Markets Act is designed to ensure fair competition and create a level playing field for technology companies.

Under the Commission's decision, Google has 60 days to modify its search practices and provide competing services with equal prominence. The company criticized the ruling.

The latest penalties come shortly after Google lost a lengthy legal challenge against a separate €4.6 billion antitrust fine imposed by the European Commission in 2018.

That earlier case centered on allegations that Google abused Android's dominant market position by requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the Chrome browser on their devices.

According to the European Commission, fines collected under EU competition rules are paid directly into the bloc's common budget.

A Commission spokesperson told Politico that the €4.6 billion payment, representing more than 2% of the EU's annual budget, will be used to help address the bloc's growing budget deficit.