The European Commission has fined Google €890 million for breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA), accusing the tech giant of favouring its own services in search results and restricting businesses from directing users to alternative purchase channels.
In a statement on Thursday, the commission said it issued Google a fine of €460 million and a fine of €430 million respectively, adding that the fines imposed take into account the gravity and duration of the non-compliance.
EU said Google breached the DMA by giving its own services including shopping, hotels, transport and sports results preferential treatment over those of third parties in Google search.
According to the commission, Google’s services appear more prominently in search results, often at the top of the page and with enhanced visuals and filters, while similar third-party services are not afforded the same visibility.
“Under the DMA, app developers that distribute their apps via Google Play should be able to inform customers – free of charge – of alternative, often cheaper, offers, and to direct them to those offers to make purchases, for example on websites or alternative app stores,” the statement reads.
“The Commission found that Google failed to comply with that obligation.
“In particular, Google prevents app developers from freely communicating and promoting offers and concluding contracts with users in distribution channels of their choice, including third-party app stores.”
While the commission acknowledged that Google may charge a fee for facilitating the initial acquisition of customers through Google Play, it said the company’s steering-related fees and the duration of those charges exceeded what is permissible under the DMA.
The European Commission ordered Google to end the non-compliance and implement measures to comply with the law.
According to the commission, Google must treat third-party services appearing in Google Search fairly and without discrimination relative to its own services.
The European Commission said the company must also allow developers distributing apps through Google Play to freely communicate with users, promote offers and conclude contracts both within and outside the app store.
The commission noted that Google has proposed and begun testing changes to the presentation of its own services in Google search, including for shopping, hotels and flights, as well as changes relating to shopping advertisements and sports content.
EU also acknowledged Google’s proposals on applying the principles of the decision to AI overviews and AI mode, adding that discussions with the company will continue.
“The Commission also notes that Google has rolled out changes related to Google’s steering terms. These constitute good progress towards compliance and will also be assessed in light of the cease and desist order of today’s decision,” the commission said.
Google has been ordered to comply with the decisions within 60 days or face periodic penalty payments of up to 5 percent of its total worldwide annual turnover.
The commission designated Google search as a gatekeeper under the DMA in September 2023.
Google was designated as a gatekeeper in September 2023 for its online search engine Google search.
EU opened non-compliance investigations into Google’s self-preferencing practices and steering rules in March 2024 and issued preliminary findings of breaches in March 2025.
