Brussels — The European Union on Thursday fined Google about €1 billion for steering consumers toward its own services via Google Play and its search engine.
About €524 million of the penalty was for Google's search violations and about €490 million was for Play store violations. The company has 60 days to comply.
The European Commission ordered Google to overhaul how it ranks rivals in Search and how it operates its Play store and said the company must treat third-party services "in a fair and non-discriminatory manner." The commission said Google must allow app developers to "freely communicate, promote offers and conclude contracts with users" outside the Play store and called Google's proposed search changes "substantial progress towards compliance" and its Play changes "good progress." The commission said it would "continue its dialogue" with Google about how the decision affects AI Overviews and AI Mode.
"The best products should succeed because they're better, not because they're owned by the company running the search engine. And 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," Teresa Ribera, the commission's executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition, said.
Henna Virkkunen, the European tech sovereignty chief, said, "Today's decisions send a clear message: we will not hesitate to use our tools." The commission said these are the first penalties Google has faced under the Digital Markets Act and the third against any company, after Apple and Meta last year.
"This isn't fair competition; it's product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants," Kent Walker, Google's president of global affairs, said. He added that to comply Google would have to "strip away real-time Search features Europeans love — like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights and restaurants — and dismantle safety protections on Google Play."
European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said, "In the EU, businesses have the right to compete fairly. Gatekeepers have the obligation to ensure a level playing field and consumers the right to choose for cheaper alternative offers." The EU describes the world's seven tech giants — Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance — as "gatekeepers" that control access for consumers.
Earlier this month the EU's top court upheld a separate $4.5 billion fine over Google's use of the Android operating system. The commission also previously hit Google with a $3.5 billion antitrust fine last September for favoring its own ad-tech services, and a U.S. judge separately found that Google illegally monopolized online ad-tech markets.
The penalty lands a day before the White House was expected to impose a new round of tariffs and follows a warning to the EU from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to stop imposing fees on U.S. tech companies. Brussels has ratcheted up pressure on U.S. and Chinese tech giants despite the risk of incurring the wrath of President Donald Trump, who has lashed out at the 27-nation bloc's digital regulations and vowed to retaliate if American tech companies are penalized.