The European Commission has handed Google two fines totalling €890 million ($1 billion) for breaching the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), the landmark legislation introduced in 2023 to curb the dominance of major technology platforms. It marks the largest penalty yet imposed under the DMA, and brings the total fines levied against Google by European regulators to more than €10.38 billion over nearly two decades.

The first fine, of €460 million, targets Google's practice of prominently featuring its own services — including Google Shopping, Google Hotels, Google Flights and sports results — within its Search results, while pushing rival services lower down the page. Around 90% of all online searches in the EU are conducted through Google Search, making it, in the Commission's words, a critical gateway between users and businesses. The second fine, of €430 million, concerns Google Play, the app store used on Android devices, where Google had prohibited developers from directing users toward cheaper purchasing options available outside the platform — a practice known as "anti-steering" that the DMA explicitly bans. EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera put it simply: "The best products should succeed because they are better — not because they belong to the company that runs the search engine."

Google rejected the findings, with Kent Walker, the company's President of Global Affairs, warning that compliance would mean stripping away real-time search features such as instant hotel pricing and flight availability that European users value, and weakening safety protections on Google Play. The company said it may challenge the decisions in court. However, the Commission pointed to ongoing "constructive dialogue" with Google, noting that the company has already begun testing changes to how it presents its own services in Search and has revised its app store steering terms — progress significant enough that further daily fines for non-compliance appear unlikely for now. Google has 60 days to fully comply with the Commission's orders.

The decision lands in a politically charged atmosphere. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused the EU of unfairly targeting American technology companies, and his administration has threatened retaliatory tariffs. The timing of the announcement — shortly after the anniversary of a trade agreement between the EU and the US — and the fact that the fine sits at the lower end of what the DMA permits have prompted questions from European critics about whether Brussels softened its approach to avoid inflaming transatlantic tensions. Civil society groups and some MEPs argued the penalty was too lenient, while others warned Washington against using the fine as a pretext to escalate trade disputes. The Commission, for its part, insisted its digital rules apply equally to all companies and are non-negotiable: "We have the sovereign right to make digital laws," a spokesperson said.

The ruling is the third set of DMA fines overall, following penalties against Apple and Meta in April 2025. It also signals that the Commission intends to extend its scrutiny to newer Google products: regulators indicated that the principles underpinning Thursday's decision may apply to Google's AI-generated search summaries, known as AI Overviews and AI Mode, with talks ongoing. Fines must be paid within three months regardless of any appeal, meaning the funds will flow to the EU's common budget while any legal challenge — which could take years — works its way through the courts.