EU Set to Fine Google €1bn Under Digital Markets Act

The European Commission is preparing to impose its first fine on Google under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), according to the German daily Handelsblatt. The penalty, reported to be about €1bn ($1.1bn), is expected to be announced on Thursday and relates to two investigations launched in March 2024, Euronews reported.

The investigations examined whether Google gives preferential treatment to its own services in search results and whether it prevents developers from promoting alternative download options outside the Google Play Store. The final amount of the fine will be decided by the European Commission's College of Commissioners, led by President Ursula von der Leyen.

The report comes just days after the EU ordered Google's parent company, Alphabet, to share search data with competitors and open the Android operating system to rival artificial intelligence services. While the Commission says the DMA is intended to boost competition and expand consumer choice, Google argues that the rules threaten user privacy and security.

The Trump administration has long criticized the DMA, accusing Brussels of unfairly targeting American technology companies.

Under the DMA, companies can be fined up to 10% of their global annual revenue for violations. Based on Alphabet's 2025 revenue of €353bn ($403bn), the maximum possible penalty would be substantially higher than the reported fine.

(max)