The EU struck: Google fined 890 million euros

The European Commission has fined Google a total of 890 million euros for violating the EU digital market regulation. The decision consists of two parts: a fine of 460 million euros for favoring one’s own services in the search engine and a fine of 430 million euros for restricting competition in the application store.

According to the commission, Google has favored its own services, such as shopping, hotel and travel searches, at the expense of other operators. Google has displayed its own services more prominently at the top of the search results, which, according to the Commission, violates the statutory obligation to treat third-party services equally and non-discriminatoryly.

The second violation is related to the Google Play app store. According to the commission, Google has prevented application developers from informing customers freely and free of charge about cheaper alternatives outside the store. Although Google can charge fees for the acquisition of new customers, according to the commission, the fees and conditions it charged were in violation of the regulation.

The Commission has ordered Google to stop the illegal activity. The company must ensure that the services of third parties receive equal treatment in the search results. In addition, application developers must be able to communicate their offers and enter into contracts with users freely also outside of Google Play.

Google has 60 days to comply with the decisions. If the company does not comply with the requirements, it may have to pay fines of up to five percent of its total worldwide turnover.

Google has already started testing changes in search results and app store conditions. The Commission monitors the situation and assesses whether the measures are sufficient to comply with the regulations.