Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: EC fines Google €890 million for DMA breaches in busy European July for Google, (Jul 23, 2026)

By Justin Marcus Smith, J.D.

The EC did not go on holiday, nor did Google, which promised changes to make search fairer after engaging in “constructive dialogue.”

Google failed to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Regulation (EU) 2022/1925, by “self-preferencing” its own Google Search services and for steering consumers away from alternative buying channels on the Google Play Store, according to two discrete European Commission (EC) decisions announced July 23. Google must pay fines of €460 million ($523 million) and €430 million ($489 million), respectively. The EC acknowledged that Google engaged in constructive dialogue; proposed changes to address self-preferencing; already made changes to address steering; and suggested it may apply the principles of the anti-steering decision to AI Overviews and AI Mode in Google Search. The EC imposed the twin fines just 10 days after the European Court of Justice confirmed the €4.125 billion ($4.72 billion) General Court penalty imposed on Google for anticompetitive practices relating to the Android operating system. In September 2023, the EC designated Google as a gatekeeper for its online search engine Google Search. DMA non-compliance investigations began in March 2024. The EC said the fines took into account the “gravity and duration of the non-compliance.” Google mounted a defense. An appeal is possible, but nothing in the EC announcement made it seem likely. EC Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera noted “[t]he best products should succeed because they're better, not because they're owned by the company running the search engine.”

Self-preferencing. The EC found Google gave preferential treatment to its own shopping, hotel, transport, and sport search results in Google search over those of third parties. Google displayed its own services more prominently, for example, at the top of the search results page, or by using “enhanced visuals and filters.” The EC determined the self-preferential treatment breached the DMA. The DMA requires gatekeepers to apply transparent, fair, and nondiscriminatory treatment in ranking third-party services.

The EC said Google proposed and started testing changes to how it presents its own services relative to others on Google search after engaging in “constructive dialogue.” The EC said it would monitor implementation and compliance and continue that dialogue.

Steering. The EC also found Google failed to comply with the DMA when it discouraged free communication and promotion between Google Play app developers and consumers. The EC stated app developers should be able to inform consumers, without charge, of “alternative, often cheaper, offers, and to direct them to those offers to make purchases, for example on websites or alternative app stores.” Google could receive a fee for facilitating an app developer’s initial acquisition of a new customer. However, the EC said the level of “steering-related” fees Google charged, and the length of the charging period, exceeded what might have otherwise been DMA compliant.

The EC prescribed that Google must (1) treat third-party services in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner relative to its own services and (2) allow free communication between Google Play Store developers and consumers, “both technically and contractually,” within and without the Google Play Store. The EC noted Google already made changes with respect to steering, but it did not describe them except to say that they amounted to “good progress towards compliance.”

AI. The EC also took note of Google proposals on how it plans to apply the principles of the anti-steering decision to AI Overviews and AI Mode. On July 16, the EC announced that it issued two sets of binding specification measures to Google under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The stated aim of the two specifications is to ensure Google’s competitors can compete in the AI market by having equal access to features on Google’s Android devices.

Companies: Google, Inc.

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