The European Commission imposed two penalties under the Digital Markets Act, marking the first sanctions against Google under the bloc’s flagship legislation aimed at curbing the power of dominant technology platforms.
A €460 million fine covers Google’s treatment of competing services in search results. Regulators found that the company displayed its own shopping, hotel, transport and sports products more prominently than comparable offerings operated by third parties.
A separate €430 million penalty targets conditions imposed through Google Play. The Commission said the company prevented app developers from freely informing customers about alternative offers available through websites, rival app stores or other distribution channels.
Google, owned by Alphabet, has been ordered to end both practices and has 60 days to comply. Failure to implement sufficient changes could expose the company to additional penalties, although regulators acknowledged that talks with Google had produced substantial progress.
The decisions deepen the European Union’s campaign to make online markets more contestable and reduce the ability of large platforms to use control over search engines, operating systems and app stores to disadvantage competitors.
Under the Digital Markets Act, designated “gatekeepers” must treat their own services and those of competitors fairly. The law also requires app stores to allow developers to tell users about outside purchasing options without charging excessive fees or imposing restrictive conditions.
The Commission concluded that Google’s search presentation gave its services an advantage through prominent positions, enhanced visuals and specialised filters that were not equally available to third-party operators. The practices affected services ranging from price comparison and hotel booking to travel and sporting information.
On Google Play, the dispute centred on “steering”, the ability of developers to guide customers towards offers outside the platform. Such alternatives may carry lower prices because developers can avoid some commissions charged for transactions conducted through an app store.
Regulators accepted that Google may charge a fee when its platform helps an app developer acquire a customer. However, they determined that the size of Google’s steering-related charges and the period during which those fees applied exceeded what was permitted under the legislation.
Google criticised the findings and indicated that it could challenge the decisions in court. Kent Walker, the company’s president of global affairs, said the measures demanded by Brussels would remove popular real-time search functions and weaken safety protections within Google Play.
Walker argued that European consumers could lose direct information on hotel, flight and restaurant prices, while businesses could face a poorer product environment. Google maintains that many integrated search features improve convenience rather than suppress competition.
The Commission rejected that assessment, saying products should succeed on quality rather than because they are owned by the company controlling the main route through which consumers find them.
Teresa Ribera, the European Union’s competition chief, said the bloc had a duty to ensure its laws were fully respected. Technology commissioner Henna Virkkunen said the decisions were intended to establish fair competition and preserve consumer choice.
The penalties are nevertheless small compared with Alphabet’s scale. The company generated revenue of about $403 billion in 2025, supported by advertising, cloud computing, subscriptions and its expanding artificial intelligence operations.
Google has already proposed changes to the display of shopping, hotel and flight services. It has also started testing revisions involving shopping advertisements, sports information and other specialised content.
The Commission said the principles established by the search decision could also apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode, which increasingly place machine-generated answers above traditional website links. Discussions will continue over how rival services and publishers should be treated as artificial intelligence becomes more prominent within search.
Proposed amendments to Google Play’s steering rules also received a cautious welcome from regulators. Those changes will be examined against the formal order requiring the company to stop its unlawful conduct.
The enforcement action could add to trade friction between Brussels and Washington. President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly accused European regulators of discriminating against successful US companies and has threatened tariffs in response to digital regulation and taxation.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Europe’s technology actions were creating uncertainty for American exports of goods and services. He accused the bloc of targeting highly competitive US businesses, though he announced no immediate retaliatory measures.
European officials insist that the rules apply regardless of where a company is based. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft are among the businesses designated as gatekeepers because of their size and their control over important digital platforms.
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