BRUSSELS – The confrontation between the European Union and large digital multinationals is always on. After the recent cases of Temu and Meta, the European Commission announced today, Thursday, July 23, two fines, this time against Google, for a total of 890 million euros. In both cases, the decision concerns violations of the Digital Markets Act. The Californian company has 60 days to comply with the European regulation. Otherwise, it will be subject to periodic fines.
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The two cases under accusation
According to the DMA, Google is considered a gatekeeper, meaning a company large enough to have particular responsibilities in ensuring compliance with European regulations. The first of the two cases concerns Google Search. The search engine is accused by the community executive of displaying its services more prominently than those of the competition when presenting Internet search results. The fine decided by Brussels amounts to 460 million euros.
The second case is more complex, and concerns Google Play. The DMA rules stipulate that application developers can inform users about the existence of better and less expensive alternatives on the market, even on different sites. Google has not complied with this obligation, explains the European Commission in its decision. It should be remembered that selling an application via Google Play often involves paying a commission to Google.
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In this case, the fine decided by Brussels amounts to 430 million euros, although the community executive admitted to being aware that in its discussions with the American company, the latter proposed improvements and changes to Google Play. «The European Commission – reads the statement published today – will monitor the implementation of these solutions, which represent substantial progress towards compliance».
Google’s reaction
Kent Walker, Google’s president, commented very harshly: «The implementation of the DMA continues to harm everyday products. To comply, we are forced to remove real-time search features much loved by Europeans – such as instant prices and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants (…) This is not fair competition; it is product degradation driven by a small group of complainants with personal interests, at the expense of European businesses and consumers».
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