The European Commission has fined Google $1 billion for giving its own services preferential treatment, and for preventing app developers directing users away from the Google Play store.

Just as US lawmakers ask Trump to investigate the EU's alleged "anti-American" Digital Markets Act (DMA), the European Union has used that act to fine Google. The fine is 890 million euros ($1 billion), and it's the first time Google has been fined under the DMA.

The European Commission (EC) ruled that Google favors its own services over the equivalent from rivals, "thereby breaching its obligations under the DMA."

This time, the EC is after search favoring Google's services, and not informing users that there are alternative ways to pay for subscriptions.

"Google displays its own services more prominently in search results, including at the top of the search results page or by using enhanced visuals and filters," said the EC in a statement. "Similar third-party services do not have the same prominence."

In the same ruling, the Commission said that Google was guilty of anti-steering by preventing app developers from informing users of offers outside of the Google Play Store.

"While Google can receive a fee for facilitating the initial acquisition of a new customer by an app developer via Google Play," continued the EC statement, "the level of the steering-related fees charged by Google and the length of the charging period for these fees went beyond what is considered compliant with the DMA."

Alongside the fine, the EU is ordering Google to use "fair and non-discriminatory" measures in search results. It also requires the company to allow developers to promote offers outside of the Google Play Store.

Google has not yet commented publicly on the ruling. But the EC says it has had a "constructive dialog" with the company, and that Google has started testing changes to comply with the ruling.

What happens next

The fine is in two parts, with 460 million euros ($525 million) being for Google's preferential treatment of its own services. The remaining 430 million euros ($464 million) is over the anti-steering practices.

But those may not be the end of the fines. As part of the ruling, Google has been given 60 days to implement the required changes, or it will face further penalty payments.

Those periodic penalty payments could be up to 5% of Google's total worldwide turnover. According to the latest financial reports, Google's parent company Alphabet's revenue for fiscal year 2026 to date is $442.49 billion.

This is far from the first time Europe has fined Google. For instance, in 2017 it fined the company $2.7 billion for illegal search manipulation.

It is, though, Google's first fine under the DMA, which has seen Apple being fined over anti-competitive behavior.

Apple's first fine under the DMA was $570 million in April 2025, over the same anti-steering that Google has now been fined for. More noticeably for users, though, Apple argues that sharing technology under the DMA poses privacy issues, so it can't release features such as the improved Siri AI in the EU.

Apple has also lobbied for the DMA to be revised, although so far unsuccessfully.