EU Fines Tech Giant - Google Must Pay EUR 890 Million for Misleading Users

The European Commission (EC) yesterday imposed two fines on Google totaling EUR 890 million for violations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), after finding that the US technology giant abused its dominant position by favoring its own services in search results and restricting users from being redirected to cheaper options outside the Google Play Store.

The first fine, amounting to EUR 460 million, concerns a disputed practice whereby Google gave its own shopping, hotel, transport and sports results services more prominent placement, advanced filters and visual advantages in search results compared with competing third-party services.

The second fine of EUR 430 million was imposed for preventing app developers from informing users free of charge about cheaper offers and alternative purchasing channels outside the Google Play platform, while the fees charged by Google were also deemed excessive and contrary to European Union legislation.

In addition to the financial penalties, the Commission ordered Google to fully cease the disputed practices and implement measures ensuring equal and non-discriminatory treatment of all services in search results, as well as technical and contractual freedom for developers to promote their offers and enter into contracts with users outside the official app store.

Google has 60 days to bring its operations fully into compliance with the European Commission's decisions. Otherwise, it faces the risk of additional fines amounting to as much as 5% of its total worldwide annual turnover, according to the EC's website.

European Commission

EC

Google

Google Play

Digital Markets Act

DMA

fines

fraud