The European Union imposed a record fine of €890 million on US-based tech giant Google for violating competition rules. The penalty, announced by the European Commission, is based on two separate violations of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The first violation was identified as Google favoring its own services over rivals in its search engine, resulting in a fine of €460 million. The second violation was determined to be Google preventing businesses distributing apps through the Google Play Store from directing consumers to cheaper alternative channels outside the store, leading to a fine of €430 million.
The Commission stated that the total fine of €890 million was determined taking into account the severity and duration of the violations. Google was also ordered to immediately cease these violations.
Accordingly, Google must treat third-party services equally and fairly in search results alongside its own services. It must also allow developers distributing apps through Google Play to freely communicate and contract with users both inside and outside the store.
Google has 60 days to comply with the Commission's decisions. If the company fails to make the necessary adjustments within this period, it risks daily fines of up to 5% of its global annual revenue.