1 Billion Dollar Antitrust Fine from the European Union to Google

The European Union imposed two separate antitrust fines totaling $1 billion on Google for violating the Digital Markets Act. The European Union imposed two separate fines totaling $1 billion on Google for violating the Digital Markets Act. These sanctions, announced on July 23, cover applications on Google Search and Google Play Store.

The European Union gave Google a period of 60 days to pay the fines of 460 million Euros and 430 million Euros. If the company does not pay within this period, it will face additional penalties based on its global revenue. The first fine, 460 million euros, was the result of a two-year investigation.

The European Union stated that Google violated the Digital Markets Act by giving its own services a privileged place in search results. In Google Search results, the company's own products are featured more prominently than third-party services in categories such as shopping, hotels, transportation and sports. Google described the changes it made regarding this situation as the biggest setback in the product history.

The second penalty, 430 million Euros, was imposed due to restrictions in the Google Play Store. Google was found guilty of preventing developers from offering payment methods and contracting with users through distribution channels of their choosing. The European Union emphasized that Google has made it difficult for developers to offer additional payment methods and alternative application installation options.

Google continues to work with the commission, acknowledging that these practices are not compliant with the Digital Markets Act. Google continues to make changes to its search and store features to comply with the new rules set by the European Union. While the Commission continues to evaluate these changes, the dialogue process between the parties is actively progressing.

These sanctions are not the European Union's first antitrust intervention against Google. Decisions have been made before that the company should share search data with other services. Google has the right to object to the announced total penalty of 890 million Euros.

The company has until January 2027 to comply with other regulations regarding search data. What do you think about these sanctions of the European Union against Google? Your comment has been sent, it will be published after approval.