Google EU Fine $1 Billion Under DMA

On July 23, 2026, Alphabet’s Google faced a €890 million fine under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) for search self-preferencing and Google Play Store anti-steering practices. The European Commission gave Google 60 days to comply or face periodic penalties.

EU Ruling on Google’s Practices and Scope

The European Commission fined Google €460 million for favoring its own vertical services—such as Shopping, Hotels, Flights, transport, and sports—in general search results through better placement and enhanced visual treatment. Regulators said this reduced visibility for rival comparison and booking services, limiting consumer choice.

The Commission also imposed a €430 million penalty for Google Play Store anti-steering. It found that Google restricted Android app developers from informing users, free of charge, about cheaper offers and subscription options outside Google Play, including links to alternative payment systems and app stores. This practice effectively locked users into Google’s in-app billing and distribution channel, raising costs for developers and potentially consumers.

The ruling covers Google Search (general and vertical results) and the Google Play Store on Android devices across the European Union and European Economic Area. This is Google’s first sanction under the DMA and the largest combined DMA fine imposed on a single company.

Remedies, Deadlines, and Enforcement Framework

The Commission ordered Google to end these breaches by treating third-party services in search results fairly and non-discriminatorily and by allowing developers to communicate freely about off-store offers and alternative payment methods. The remedies focus on behavioral changes in presentation and developer communications rather than structural changes.

Google must comply within 60 days. Failure to implement the required changes could trigger periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of worldwide daily turnover until compliance is achieved. Under the DMA, the Commission can impose fines up to 10% of global annual turnover for serious non-compliance and up to 20% for repeat infringements, with the option to consider structural remedies if necessary.

On July 16, 2026, the Commission adopted two separate DMA orders requiring Google to open 11 Android system-level features—including wake-word recognition, contextual screen access, cross-app actions, and on-device AI resources—to rival AI assistants on fair terms. It also mandated sharing anonymized search query, click, and ranking data with qualifying rivals on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms starting January 2027, with staged implementation through 2028. These orders are distinct from the fine but illustrate an expanded enforcement campaign targeting core platform functions.

The case originated from a DMA non-compliance investigation opened in March 2024. On July 2, 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld a €4.125 billion Android tie-in fine against Google, reinforcing the Commission’s stance on platform abuses.

With this penalty, Google has now received six EU antitrust fines totaling about €10.4 billion over nearly two decades.

The Commission acknowledged significant progress by Google toward DMA compliance but found the company had not achieved effective compliance. Brussels described the engagement as constructive and indicated it was unlikely to impose immediate daily penalties if Google continues cooperating and implementing the ordered changes.

By requiring more symmetrical presentation of rival services in search and permitting developers to communicate about off-store offers, the remedies aim to lower barriers for competing shopping, travel, and subscription services in the EU.

The ruling arrives amid heightened U.S.-EU tensions over competition policy. EU officials defend the DMA as a neutral rulebook designed to increase user choice and innovation, while some U.S. officials have criticized it as discriminatory toward American firms.