EU Slams Google with Hefty Fines Under Digital Markets Act

The European Commission is preparing to announce major decisions against Google within the upcoming week, escalating its enforcement actions against major technology companies. These decisions are expected to include fines amounting to hundreds of millions of euros, stemming from two significant investigations.

One investigation concerns Google's alleged illegal favoritism of its shopping, travel, and other specialized services within its search results, disadvantaging rivals. The second probe focuses on Google's Play Store practices, with the Commission likely to mandate greater freedom for app developers to direct users to alternative mobile app payment systems.

Under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), non-compliant companies can face penalties up to 10 percent of their global turnover. Google also risks ongoing daily penalty payments if it does not adhere to fresh regulatory orders within 60 days, despite prior negotiation attempts. This action follows previous antitrust fines imposed on Google between 2017 and 2019.

This move by Brussels occurs as tensions between the EU and the US regarding the EU's digital regulations have somewhat eased. The Commission is also evaluating whether Google should grant third-party search engines access to search data and ensure equal access to AI features for third-party providers compared to Google's Gemini service.