The European Commission has fined Google 890 million euros for violating the DMA
The European Commission has imposed fines totaling 890 million euros on Google for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The decision concerns the operation of the Google Search engine and the Google Play app store, according to “European Truth.”
The company received the first fine of 460 million euros for giving preferential treatment to its own services in search results. This specifically concerns services in the categories of online shopping, hotels, transportation, and sports. According to the European Commission’s findings, Google placed these services in the most prominent positions by using enhanced visual elements and filters that similar services from third-party companies did not have.
The second fine, in the amount of 430 million euros, relates to Google Play’s operations. The Commission found that the company restricted app developers’ ability to inform users, free of charge, about alternative—and often cheaper—ways to purchase digital goods and services outside of Google Play, such as through their own websites or third-party stores. The Commission also found that the fees Google charged in such cases, as well as the duration of their application, were incompatible with the DMA.
The European Commission has ordered Google to remedy the violations within 60 days. The company must ensure equal and non-discriminatory treatment of third-party services in search results, as well as allow developers to freely advertise their offers and enter into agreements with users both on Google Play and outside of it. If Google fails to comply with the decision, it could face periodic fines of up to 5% of its total global revenue.
In early July, the EU Court of Justice rejected Google’s appeal and upheld the European Commission’s €4.1 billion fine for antitrust violations.
