EU imposes €890 million fine on Google for anticompetitive app store practices
The penalty marks the second major competition ruling against the US firm, following a €4.3 billion decision in 2018 that was upheld in February.
The European Commission has levied a €890 million ($1.015 billion) fine against Google for breaching EU competition regulations concerning its Play app store and search engine operations. The Brussels-based regulator determined that the US technology firm engaged in practices that unfairly advantaged its own services while restricting competition from rival providers.
Digital Commissioner Henna Virkkunen stated that the Commission found Google had harmed businesses offering similar services, particularly in the shopping and sports sectors, by failing to grant them equal prominence on Google Search results. The regulator also identified that the company had restricted app developers from offering cheaper deals to customers within the Google Play app store, limiting consumer choice regarding pricing.
Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera emphasised the institutional stance that market success should be driven by product quality rather than corporate ownership. "The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine," Ribera said, adding that European consumers have the right to be informed by developers about the best offers, regardless of whether the app store owner receives a commission.
The European Commission has warned that Google faces the prospect of further fines if it fails to comply with the new regulatory requirements. The ruling underscores the bloc’s continued scrutiny of digital market dominance and its insistence that platform owners must not leverage their control over search infrastructure to stifle competition in adjacent markets.
This penalty follows a significant precedent set in 2018, when the Commission imposed a €4.3 billion fine on Google for abusing its market dominance in the Android ecosystem. That earlier decision, which required phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the Chrome web browser, was upheld after Google lost its appeal in February. The current fine reflects a continued regulatory effort to ensure fair competition in the digital economy.
