EU demands Google stops infringing on competitors in search results, threatens fines of up to $35 billion

The European Commission has accused Google of violating EU antitrust rules, saying the company favors its services like Shopping and Flights in search results to the detriment of competitors. Google could face fines of up to $35 billion and be forced to adjust its Play Store app store policies to comply with the new DMA requirements.

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If ultimately found guilty, Google faces a fine of up to 10% of its global annual revenue. Given that parent company Alphabet’s revenue in 2024 was $350 billion, the maximum fine could reach $35 billion. Google can now either contest the charges or make further changes to comply with the EU regulation, The Verge reports.

Teresa Ribera, the executive vice-president of the European Commission, said that Google violates the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in several cases – in search results and in its policy towards developers of the Play Store app store. In the first case, the company promotes its own services in search. According to Ribera, this prevents competitors from receiving a fair ranking and limits user choice. In turn, Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior director of competition, called the EU’s claims “misguided” and warned that a ban on direct links to airline sites could lead to an increase in ticket prices due to intermediary commissions.

As for the Play Store, the EU believes that Google is preventing Android users from discovering better deals from developers outside the store. However, Bethell counters that the EU’s requirements create a “false choice between openness and security.” In his view, the EU is effectively forcing the company to either make its ecosystem closed like Apple’s or weaken its protections against fraudulent app links.

Another European Commissioner, Henna Virkkunen, stressed that Google’s actions were damaging both European and foreign companies that depended on the Google ecosystem. According to her, compliance with the DMA was critical to ensuring a level playing field and stimulating digital innovation.

Recall that the charges against Google followed the EU’s March investigation into the company’s promotion of its own services in search, as was the case in 2017, when Google was fined €2.4 billion for manipulating Google Shopping. Google may challenge the preliminary charges or make further changes to comply with the requirements before the EU makes a final decision.

Google has already made changes to its search engine to try to meet the DMA’s demands, removing the Google Flights widget and adding more links to third-party services. However, tensions between the EU and American tech giants are growing, The Verge notes, especially in the wake of statements by former US President Donald Trump, who called the EU fines a form of hidden tax on American companies.