The European Commission fined Google €890 million (US$1 billion), its first sanction under the Digital Markets Act, for self-preferencing in Google Search and anti-steering restrictions on Google Play. The decision escalates US-EU trade tensions, as US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer criticized the ruling while conducting USMCA Joint Review talks in Mexico City the same week.
The European Commission fined Google €890 million (US$1 billion) on July 23, 2026, marking the technology company’s first sanction under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Regulators found that the company favored its own services in search results and restricted app developers from directing users to cheaper purchase options on Google Play. The ruling immediately drew criticism from Washington, adding a new point of friction to an already strained transatlantic trade relationship.
The Commission split the penalty into two decisions: €460 million for self-preferencing in Google Search and €430 million for anti-steering restrictions on Google Play, according to the European Commission’s official announcement. Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just, and Competitive Transition, European Commission, defended the decision on competition grounds, saying the best products “should succeed because they’re better.” EU Tech Sovereignty Chief Henna Virkkunen added that the goal of the ruling is to guarantee a level playing field for companies operating in the bloc’s digital market.
Washington pushed back within hours. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the Commission’s actions were “driving massive uncertainty for US exports of goods and services to Europe,” framing the fine as part of a broader pattern of regulatory measures he views as disproportionately targeting American technology firms.
The DMA, which became applicable in 2023, requires so-called gatekeeper platforms, including Alphabet, Apple, and Meta, to apply transparent and non-discriminatory conditions to how they rank services and to let users access cheaper alternatives outside their own ecosystems. Google was designated a gatekeeper for Search in September 2023, and the Commission opened non-compliance investigations in March 2024, concluding after more than two years that the company had not met its obligations under the law.
The case is part of a wider EU effort to constrain the market power of large technology companies. Apple and Meta each faced DMA penalties in 2025, and Google alone has now accumulated close to €2 billion in fines under the regulation since it took effect. The ruling also follows a €4.1 billion antitrust penalty over Google’s Android operating system that the European Union’s top court upheld earlier this year, underscoring a sustained pattern of scrutiny toward the company’s core businesses.
Google has 60 days to comply with the Commission’s orders and has said it may appeal the decisions. Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs, Alphabet, argued that the ruling forces the company to strip away search features valued by EU users and to weaken safety protections on its app store. The Commission noted that Google has already begun testing changes to how it displays shopping and services-related results, describing its engagement with the company on compliance as constructive, which reduces the likelihood of additional daily penalties in the near term.
The dispute lands at a delicate moment for US-EU trade relations, as President Donald Trump has previously threatened additional tariffs in response to EU digital regulation he considers unfair to US firms. Greer was in Mexico City from July 22 to July 24 for the third round of the USMCA Joint Review, where digital trade rules form part of a broader negotiation covering automobiles, labor, and agriculture. Mexico’s technology sector has so far read the ongoing USMCA review as unlikely to alter Chapter 19, which governs cross-border data flows and digital commerce, a factor that industry representatives say continues to provide certainty for companies operating across North America.