The European Union (EU) may be gearing up to hit Google with a massive multimillion-euro fine for antitrust violations. The tech giant could be facing a penalty in the high hundreds of millions of euros, according to sources speaking to the German newspaper Handelsblatt.The final decision will reportedly rest with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and is expected to be announced before the European Commission's summer recess. The Commission typically goes on break in late July through to August, operating with a skeleton staff during this period.Google's parent company, Alphabet, is accused of violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), an EU law regulating large platforms that provide "core" services. This includes app stores such as Google Play as well as online search engines such as Google Search.
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The European Commission initially opened an investigation into Alphabet in March 2024 and released its preliminary findings a year later. The investigation found that Google Search unfairly favors Alphabet's own services over those of rivals, and that Google Play prevents app developers from directing users to other platforms. As such, Alphabet failed to comply with DMA. The company was then given the opportunity to respond to these findings or face potential non-compliance proceedings.
