European Union imposes a monster fine of €890m on Google
European regulators have imposed a total fine of €890 million on Google after finding that the company had violated online competition rules. The European Commission ruled that Google had breached the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by unfairly promoting its own hotel and shopping tools in search results while sidelining competitors.
In addition, the tech giant was penalised for restricting the ability of app developers to direct users to cheaper subscription options or external stores.
The financial penalty is split into two parts: €460 million for irregularities in the search engine and €430 million for misconduct in the app store.
Consequently, the EU has required Google to apply a non-discriminatory and fair approach to third party services in its search results and to allow developers to promote external offers.
Although the Commission acknowledged that Google has started testing changes to search results that indicate progress towards compliance, officials stressed that European users will see a tangible change in how search results are presented.
Critics have argued that the fine, while large, is still inadequate. Max von Thun of the Open Markets Institute Europe pointed out that the fine is negligible compared to Google’s annual revenue, which amounted to more than $400 billion last year.
He urged the Commission to take decisive action to put an end to this anti-competitive behaviour, in support of the growth of European innovation and start-ups.
Google has strongly opposed the ruling. Kent Walker, the company’s president of global affairs, claimed that the decision is the result of the influence of a few parties pursuing their own interests and that it will ultimately harm European consumers. He argued that the DMA forces Google to remove useful real-time features – such as direct price displays for hotels and flights – and weakens security protocols in the Google Play Store.
The company has retained the right to challenge the decision in court and to request suspension of the measures.
Business AM
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