EU fines Google €890M under DMA over search and Play Store

Q: Why did the EU fine Google €890 million?

The European Commission found that Google had breached the Digital Markets Act in two ways: by favouring its own services such as Google Flights and Google Hotels in search results, and by restricting app developers from steering users to offers outside the Google Play store.

Q: How much time does Google have to comply with the EU order?

Google has 60 days to comply with the Commission's required product changes; if it fails to do so, Brussels can impose periodic penalty payments of up to five percent of average daily worldwide turnover.

Q: Is this the largest fine Google has faced from the EU?

It is the largest single sanction under the Digital Markets Act, but it is smaller than earlier EU fines against Google, including the €4.34 billion Android penalty in 2018 and the €2.95 billion adtech fine in September 2025.

Brussels, 23 July 2026 The European Commission fined Google €890 million on Thursday for breaching the EU's Digital Markets Act in two separate cases covering search results and its Google Play app store, ordering the U.S. internet giant to overhaul both products within 60 days. The penalty is split into two parts: €460 million for illegally favouring Google's own services, such as Google Flights and Google Hotels, over rival offerings in search results, and €430 million for restricting how app developers can direct consumers to offers outside the Google Play store. The Commission said the conduct violated Article 6(5) of the Digital Markets Act, which prohibits so-called gatekeepers from self-preferencing in this form. ## How the fine breaks down Google is the third company to face significant fines under the DMA, the three-year-old EU rulebook designed to fast-track investigations into dominant tech platforms. The €890 million total is the largest sanction Brussels has issued so far under the law, surpassing the previous record fine imposed against Apple over App Store steering rules. European Commission executive vice-president for competition policy Teresa Ribera said the company had fallen short of effective compliance. "Google has fallen short of effective compliance with the Digital Markets Act, and today we have taken decisive yet balanced enforcement action sanctioning these breaches," Ribera said. She added: "The best products should succeed because they're better, not because they're owned by the company running the search engine." The Commission issued its preliminary findings in the self-preferencing case in March 2025 and opened the Google Play anti-steering proceeding in March 2024, in parallel with investigations into Apple and Meta. A senior EU official said Google continued to favour its own services even as it proposed changes. The Commission specifically pointed to visually highlighted formats such as coloured boxes displaying Google's own content, including sports results and hotel offers. ## What Google must now do EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said the Commission wanted more competition and innovation. "After this decision, we want to make sure that there is more competition and also other companies are able to innovate," Virkkunen said. The Commission noted that Google has already proposed changes to how it displays its own services and is currently testing them. If Google fails to comply within the 60-day deadline, Brussels can impose periodic penalty payments of up to five percent of average daily worldwide turnover. By the end of July, the Commission must also set out binding rules on how Google is to share search data with competing search engines and open Android to third-party AI assistants. The DMA provides for fines of up to ten percent of global annual turnover, rising to 20 percent for repeat infringements. ## A transatlantic flashpoint The fine lands against a backdrop of transatlantic tension. Washington has denounced the Digital Markets Act as discriminatory because most of the companies covered by it are American. After the September 2025 adtech fine, US President Donald Trump publicly called the EU decision unfair. The Commission's latest action risks escalating those tensions with the United States. Google pushed back. The company accused the EU of dismantling safety protections on Google Play. Reacting to the announcement, the company is expected to appeal, as it has done with previous EU fines, including the 2017 EU Shopping case (€2.42 billion), the 2018 Android case (€4.34 billion), and the September 2025 adtech fine (€2.95 billion). Alphabet, Google's parent company, posted record revenue of around 402.8 billion dollars in 2025. ## Critics say the penalty is too small Critics questioned whether the penalty would change behaviour. Ecosia CEO Christian Kroll said: "Since 2017 the Commission has imposed fines of more than eleven billion euros – fines the company has consistently appealed and in some cases only paid years later. And Google's market share in internet search in Europe? It has climbed further to around 90 percent in the meantime. Fines of 890 million euros for a company with 400 billion dollars in annual revenue are not a deterrent. They are a calculated part of a business model." Green MEP Alexandra Geese called the fine disappointing and out of all proportion to the damage done to the European economy, calling for consistent daily penalty payments. The theoretical maximum penalty under the DMA based on Alphabet's 2025 revenue would have been roughly 40 billion dollars. The European Court of Justice upheld the 2018 Android fine in early July 2026 at a slightly reduced level. Separately, another DMA case opened in November 2025 concerns the alleged demotion of news publishers in Google search results.

EU fines Google €890 million under Digital Markets Act, orders changes to search and app store

How the fine breaks down

What Google must now do

A transatlantic flashpoint

Critics say the penalty is too small

Questions & Answers