Google Fined €890 Million by EU for Prioritizing Own Services

Brussels. The European Union (EU) has fined Google €890 million (approximately £750.9 million) on charges of prioritizing its own services and apps over those of competing companies. This decision is the first major action against Google under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The law is designed to control the market dominance of the world's largest tech companies. According to the European Commission, Google limited consumer choice by displaying its own hotel and flight booking services above those of competing companies in its search service.

Furthermore, the Commission concluded that Google Play Store rules prevented users from learning about cheaper alternatives available outside of Google's app market. The Commission has imposed separate fines for these two violations: €460 million for prioritizing its own services in search results and €430 million for Play Store-related rules.

Thus, Google has been fined a total of €890 million. Google, however, has criticized this decision. The company's Global Affairs chief, Kent Walker, stated that due to the European Union's rules, it has become necessary to remove real-time search features that European users appreciate, such as immediate price and availability information for hotels, flights, and restaurants.

He claimed that this is not fair competition, as it also requires weakening the security features present in Google Play. The European Commission has clarified that companies that dominate the market are not allowed to use their power to push competitors behind.

The EU's Competition Chief, Teresa Ribera, said that companies should succeed because they have the best products, not because they own the company operating the search engine.

Similarly, the EU's Technology Chief, Henna Virkkunen, expressed confidence that this decision will increase market competition and provide opportunities for other companies to develop new technologies. Disputes related to competition between European regulatory bodies and Google are not new.

Previously, Google has had to pay billions of euros in fines to the European Union in various competition-related cases. Google now has 60 days to comply with the EU's rules or challenge the decision in court.