THE EUROPEAN UNION today hit Google with fines totalling \u20ac890 million, in a move that risks escalating tensions with the United States.<\/p>\n
The EU fined the US tech giant \u20ac460 million for illegally favouring its own services \u2013 such as Google Flights and Google Hotels \u2013 over rivals in search results.<\/p>\n
A second fine of \u20ac430 million was levied because Google barred app developers from showing consumers offers, free of charge, outside the Google Play store, the European Commission said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter this decision, we want to make sure that there is more competition and also other companies are able to innovate,\u201d EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said.<\/p>\n
A senior EU official said Google still favours its own services, though the second fine covers only the period from March 2024 to December 2025.<\/p>\n
The US tech giant accused the EU of dismantling safety protections on Google Play through its enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegulation should improve products, not make them worse,\u201d Google\u2019s Kent Walker said in a statement.<\/p>\n
The fines land just days before the first anniversary of a tariff deal between Washington and Brussels that had eased trade tensions.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has repeatedly accused Brussels of targeting US tech firms and has threatened retaliatory tariffs.<\/p>\n
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the fines undermined hopes for smoother trade ties, warning they \u201cpose a real risk to the continuation of transatlantic stability with respect to trade.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u2018Not fair competition\u2019<\/p>\n
The penalties are the largest yet against a single company under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU\u2019s signature tech competition law.<\/p>\n
In 2025, the bloc fined Meta \u20ac200 million and Apple \u20ac500 million under the same rules.<\/p>\n
The DMA, which took effect in 2024, aims to curb what Brussels views as Big Tech\u2019s excesses and ensure fair competition in the digital economy. Washington firmly objects to the DMA and other EU tech regulations.<\/p>\n
Under the DMA, the EU can fine companies up to 10% of their global turnover for violations.<\/p>\n
An EU official said Thursday\u2019s penalties amount to just 0.22% of Google\u2019s turnover.<\/p>\n
The Commission warned the fines could grow further, threatening \u201cperiodic penalty payments\u201d if Google fails to comply within 60 days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best products should succeed because they\u2019re better, not because they\u2019re owned by the company running the search engine,\u201d EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said in a statement.<\/p>\n
EU \u2018discriminatory\u2019 rules<\/p>\n
Google is no stranger to EU fines.<\/p>\n
Between 2017 and 2019, Brussels hit the company with penalties totalling \u20ac8.2 billion, and in September last year imposed a separate \u20ac2.95 billion under different antitrust rules \u2013 a move that prompted Trump to threaten retaliation.<\/p>\n
The EU appeared unfazed Thursday by the prospect of a fresh US response.<\/p>\n
Brussels\u2019 duty, Ribera told reporters, is to \u201censure that the regulation that is being adopted by our sovereign institutions is fully enforced and respected.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted that US authorities were pursuing \u201cvery similar approaches\u201d in comparable cases of their own.<\/p>\n
The EU and the United States agreed earlier this year to address friction over the bloc\u2019s digital rules through talks, though those discussions have yet to begin.<\/p>\n
Greer said Washington was seeking to \u201cresolve our concerns\u201d about the EU rules through dialogue, but that \u201creal dialogue can only take place during a ceasefire.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fines against Google had been expected for months, the product of a probe launched in 2024, though Brussels has faced accusations of delaying the decision out of concern for relations with Washington.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, some 25 Republican lawmakers urged Trump in a letter to use tools such as trade investigations against the EU\u2019s \u201cdiscriminatory\u201d digital rules \u2013 a move that could trigger higher tariffs.<\/p>\n
Virkkunen insisted Europe would not back down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very committed to our rules,\u201d she told journalists.<\/p>\n