"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," said Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice‑President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition.
The European Commission's finding and the scope of the DMA breach
The European Commission imposed a fine of €890 million on Google after concluding the company breached the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU's law designed to ensure fair online competition. The Commission determined that Google, designated a gatekeeper for Google Search in September 2023, gave preferential treatment to its own services and restricted app developers' ability to steer users to alternative purchase channels on the Google Play store. Non‑compliance investigations into the company were opened in March 2024.
Search results: preferential treatment of Google's services
The Commission's decision separates the search findings from the app‑store findings. It concluded that Google "gives preferential treatment to its own services, including shopping, hotels, transport and sports results, over those of third parties in Google Search," and that this behavior breached the DMA obligation requiring gatekeepers to treat third‑party services fairly in search rankings rather than favoring their own. For that conduct the Commission fined Google €460 million.
Google Play: restrictions on developer steering and communications
In the Google Play matter, the Commission found that "Google prevents app developers from freely communicating and promoting offers and concluding contracts with users in distribution channels of their choice, including third‑party app stores." The public enforcement action imposed a €430 million fine for those app‑store steering practices. The Commission described Google's recent changes to steering terms as progress but concluded they fell short of effective compliance.
Penalties, deadlines, and Google's options
In addition to the €890 million fine, the Commission ordered Google to end the DMA violations within 60 days. If Google fails to comply, the company faces penalty payments of up to 5% of its worldwide turnover. The Commission noted that Google had already begun "testing changes" to how its own services are placed in search results and had rolled out changes to its steering terms—actions the Commission called "substantial progress towards compliance"—but it concluded those measures did not yet meet the DMA's requirements. Google may appeal the decisions.
What this means for app developers, European consumers, and Google
- App developers: The Commission's finding targets rules that limited developers' ability to communicate offers and direct users to alternate purchase channels, including third‑party app stores. If enforced, the remedies could broaden the ways developers can promote and conclude contracts with users beyond the Google Play distribution channel.
- European consumers: Teresa Ribera emphasized a consumer‑facing rationale in the Commission's statement—"European consumers have a right to be told by app developers where to sign up to the best offers, even when the app store owner does not get a cut"—indicating the decision is meant to increase transparency about pricing and offer availability for end users.
- Google: The company faces an immediate compliance deadline and financial exposure beyond the fine if the Commission's requirements are not met. The Commission acknowledged Google's testing and changes as progress but found them insufficient to remedy the DMA violations within the required framework; Google has the legal option to appeal.
This action follows a series of previous EU and national penalties against Google referenced by the Commission. In September the Commission fined Google €2.95 billion for favoring its adtech services over competitors in digital advertising technology. Also in September, France's data protection authority fined Google €325 million for displaying ads between Gmail users' emails without consent and for cookie‑regulation breaches. More recently, in early July Google lost a final appeal against a €4.1 billion antitrust fine concerning the use of Android to promote its search service and the Chrome browser—underscoring that this DMA ruling arrives amid ongoing regulatory scrutiny.
The Commission framed today's action as enforcement calibrated to DMA obligations: gatekeepers must not use control of platforms to favor their own offerings or to curtail developers' ability to steer users. The company now faces a concrete window—60 days—to change practices or risk significantly larger financial consequences tied to worldwide turnover. Whether the steps Google has already begun testing will satisfy the Commission or be reshaped through appeal and further enforcement will determine how the DMA's rules translate into everyday search results and app‑store behaviour.