Google fined €890m by EU for favouring its own apps over rivals
Google has been fined €890 million (£759 million) by the EU for allegedly abusing its power by favoring its own apps and services over those of rivals.
This is the first major action against the tech giant under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a groundbreaking law aimed at restricting the power of the world’s biggest tech companies.
The Commission argued that Google’s practices limited consumer choice and gave its services an unfair advantage over competitors.
But the firm criticized the decision, arguing that the EU’s requirements could harm services used by millions of European customers.
“To comply, we need to strip away the real-time Search features Europeans love—like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants—and the security protections on Google Play,” said Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs.
“This is not a fair competition.”
EU officials rejected that claim, saying measures were needed to prevent dominant platforms from disadvantaging rivals.
The total fine imposed on Google consists of two separate violations of the DMA.
The European Commission imposed a 460 million euro fine after finding that Google favored its own services in search results to help people book flights and hotels over rivals.
In addition, another fine of 430 million euros was imposed on the company due to Play Store rules; regulators said Google was not allowed to show people cheaper offers outside its own marketplace.
