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Brussels Fines Google €890 Million in First Digital Markets Act Penalty

Two decisions hit Google Search self-preferencing and Google Play's limits on steering users to cheaper offers, with a 60-day clock to comply.

AppsJul 23, 20264 min read2 diagrams

Key takeaways

  • The European Commission fined Google €460 million for Search self-preferencing and €430 million for Play anti-steering.
  • Google has 60 days to comply or risk periodic penalties of up to 5% of worldwide turnover.
  • The Commission called Google's tested changes substantial progress, and Google can still appeal.

The European Commission has fined Google a combined €890 million for breaking the Digital Markets Act, finding that the company tilted Google Search toward its own services and restricted how app developers can steer users to cheaper purchase options outside Google Play. The decisions, published July 23, 2026, are described as Google's first penalties under the law.

Two violations, two fines

The Commission split the penalty into two decisions. The first, worth €460 million, covers self-preferencing in Search: Google gave its own shopping, hotel, transport and sports results an advantage over rival services. The second, €430 million, covers Google Play's anti-steering rules, which limited developers' ability to tell users about better deals available elsewhere and to complete purchases outside the store.

Google has 60 days to end both practices. If it does not, it risks periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of its worldwide turnover. At the same time the Commission acknowledged that Google has been testing changes to both areas, including revised search layouts and altered Play steering terms, and called these efforts substantial progress toward compliance. Their adequacy is still under assessment.

Fines issued under the Digital Markets Act so far DMA fines by decision (EUR millions) 500 460 430 Apple, Apr 2025 Google Search Google Play Jul 2026 (two decisions)
Apple's fine concerned anti-steering rules in the App Store. Source: European Commission, MacRumors.

How it fits the wider enforcement

Apple was fined €500 million in April 2025 for breaching DMA anti-steering obligations, and the Commission later found that Apple still imposed a 27% commission on purchases made through external websites linked from within apps. Apple said it would appeal. The Commission has also issued preliminary findings that Apple makes it unduly difficult to use alternative app distribution channels on iOS. Together, the cases show the Commission using the DMA as an enforcement tool in areas where traditional competition cases took years.

The Google fines rhyme with the Play fee changes announced earlier this year in its settlement with Epic Games in the United States. In both venues, the pressure is on the same question: whether a platform that controls distribution can restrict how developers reach users and what they pay for it.

What each Google decision targets and what happens next Search self-preferencing Own shopping, hotels, sports EUR 460M Play anti-steering Limits on cheaper outside offers EUR 430M 60 days to comply from Jul 23, 2026 Complies: penalties avoided Fails: up to 5% of worldwide turnover
Structure of the two decisions and the compliance clock. Illustrative.

Why it matters

For developers in Europe, the Play ruling is the more concrete one. If Google loosens steering rules, apps can promote web checkout and lower-cost offers inside their listings, which pressures the commission model both on Android and, by comparison, on iOS. For consumers, the Search decision promises results where rival comparison and travel services are treated less unfavorably.

Google has called the ruling unfair, according to coverage quoting Kent Walker, its president of global affairs. It has not confirmed whether it will appeal, though it can challenge the decisions in court. The Commission is also still in talks with Google about how the same principles apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode, which could become the next front.

Google's president of global affairs, Kent Walker, called the ruling unfair, per press coverage.

Scale and signal

At €890 million, the combined fine is large in absolute terms but small against Google's revenue, and the Commission's own framing emphasizes behavior change over punishment. The periodic penalty threat is the more serious lever: up to 5% of worldwide turnover is far higher than any one-time figure, and it is why the 60-day compliance period is the real deadline. Security Affairs notes these are the fifth and sixth competition penalties against Google overall, a reminder that this is not the company's first brush with Brussels.

The decisions also close a loop. The DMA was designed to be faster than traditional antitrust, with clear dos and don'ts for designated gatekeepers. Apple was the first to be fined under the law in April 2025, and Google is now the second. Having both on record lets the Commission argue the regime has teeth, while the companies' appeals will test whether the rules hold up in court.

What to watch

  • Whether Google files an appeal and whether the Commission accepts its revised search layout as compliant.
  • The end of the 60-day window in late September and any periodic penalty decision.
  • How the Commission treats AI Overviews and AI Mode under the same rules.
  • Read-across to Apple, which is appealing its own DMA decisions.

Sources

  1. Commission fines Google EUR 890 million for breaches of the Digital Markets Act — European Commission (DMA site)
  2. Google fined EUR 890M under EU Digital Markets Act over Search and Play Store practices — Security Affairs
  3. Google fined EUR 890M in its first Digital Markets Act penalty — The Next Web
  4. Apple hit with EUR 500M fine as EU enforces Digital Markets Act — MacRumors

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