Google hit with $1.5 billion EU fine, in ‘constructive’ talks to avoid more penalties
Foo Yun Chee
Alphabet’s Google was fined a total of €890 million (A$1.45 billion) on Thursday for violating European Union rules aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech, the European Commission said.
But the US tech giant is likely to avoid new fines as EU regulators praised good progress in its ongoing efforts to comply with the landmark legislation.
The penalties underlined Europe’s determination to prevent Big Tech companies from blocking rivals, defying US criticism and retaliatory tariff threats.
Google has been fined €460 million (US$750 million) by the European Commission under the Digital Markets Act for featuring its services in search results for shopping, hotels, transportation and sports.
The second fine of 430 million euros ($700 million) targeted Google’s restrictions on its app store Google Play, which prevent app developers from directing users to cheaper offerings on rival app stores or websites for free.
These penalties are the first for the US tech giant under the DMA, but the fifth and sixth penalties overall for anti-competitive practices, amounting to a total fine of 10.38 billion euros ($17 billion) over nearly two decades.
“Our duty and obligation is to comply with the law and fully respect our laws,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera told reporters when asked about the US reaction.
“The DMA wants to make sure that we have a fair and level playing field. With these decisions we want to make sure that there is competition,” EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters.
Google, which has 60 days to comply with the Commission’s orders to treat rivals fairly and non-discriminately and allow app developers to lure users away from its app store, criticized the EU findings and said it could take the Commission to court.
“To comply, we have to remove the real-time Search features that Europeans love (like instant pricing and direct search).
Google’s Head of Global Affairs Kent Walker said in a statement that availability for hotels, flights and restaurants will be provided and security protections on Google Play will be removed.
“This is not fair competition; this is product degradation caused by a small group of self-serving complainers, with European businesses and consumers taking a hit. Regulations should improve products, not worsen them,” he said.
More fines unlikely due to ‘constructive dialogue’
The Commission, which acts as the EU’s competition enforcer, noted that a “constructive dialogue” has been established with Google and significant progress has been made in compliance with the DMA, and stated that daily penalties will probably be off the table in case of non-compliance.
“Google has proposed and begun testing changes to how it presents its own services in Google Search for free services such as shopping, hotels and flights,” the commission said, calling it a significant advance.
“The Commission also notes that Google has proposed and begun testing changes to the way it delivers content-related services such as shopping ads and sports,” adding that it will evaluate the changes and continue discussions with Google.
The EU watchdog also said Google could apply the principles of Thursday’s decision to AI-generated summaries, known as AI Overview and AI Mode, and that talks will continue to that end.
The changes made by Google to the administrative terms of Google Play were temporarily received positively by the Commission.
“These constitute good progress towards harmonization and will also be considered in the light of today’s cease and desist decision,” he said.
Europe’s pressure on Big Tech has angered US President Donald Trump’s administration, which has threatened to retaliate with tariffs for moves targeting US companies, while US lawmakers have also stepped up the pressure.
These penalties are the third penalties under the DMA, after the penalties imposed on Apple and Meta Platforms in April last year.
Reuters
