EU fines Google $1 billion over digital competition rules, risking fresh US tensions
Brussels: The European Union has fined Google a total of €890 million ($1 billion) for allegedly favouring its own services in search results and restricting app developers from offering consumers deals outside the Google Play Store.
The EU imposed a €460 million fine over Google's alleged practice of giving preference to its own services, including Google Flights and Google Hotels, over competing services in search results.
A second fine of €430 million was imposed after the EU found that Google prevented app developers from freely directing consumers to offers available outside the Google Play Store. The European Commission said the second penalty covered the period from March 2024 to December 2025.
"After this decision, we want to make sure that there is more competition and also other companies are able to innovate," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said.
A senior EU official said Google continued to favour its own services. The fines were imposed under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into force in 2024 to promote competition and curb the dominance of major technology companies.
Google criticised the EU's decision, arguing that the regulations were forcing it to make its products worse for European users.
"Regulation should improve products, not make them worse," Google's Kent Walker said.
He accused the EU of forcing Google to remove features from Search, including instant pricing and direct availability information for hotels, flights and restaurants. He also said the company was being forced to dismantle safety protections on Google Play.
"This isn't fair competition," Walker said.
The fines are the largest combined penalties imposed on a single company under the DMA so far. The EU previously fined Meta €200 million and Apple €500 million under the same law in 2025.
The latest action could further strain relations between Brussels and Washington. US President Donald Trump's administration has previously accused the EU of unfairly targeting American technology companies and has threatened retaliatory tariffs.
The fines come just days before the first anniversary of a tariff agreement between the EU and the US that helped ease trade tensions.
The European Commission said the penalties could increase if Google fails to comply with the rules within 60 days, with the company potentially facing periodic penalty payments.
"The best products should succeed because they're better, not because they're owned by the company running the search engine," EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said.
Google has faced repeated scrutiny from EU regulators. Between 2017 and 2019, the EU hit the company with fines worth a total of 8.2 billion euros. Brussels also imposed a €2.95 billion fine on Google in September last year under different antitrust rules.
The EU and the US had agreed to address tensions over the bloc's digital regulations through talks, but those discussions have yet to begin. Meanwhile, 25 Republican lawmakers in the US urged Trump in a letter to consider measures against what they called the EU's "discriminatory" digital rules, including trade investigations that could result in higher tariffs.
(With AFP inputs)