London —
The European Union has fined Google €890 million ($1 billion) for breaching rules designed to promote competition in digital services, the first time the company has been penalized under the landmark law.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said Thursday that Google had failed to comply with the Digital Markets Act by promoting its own services, including shopping and transport, on Google Search over those of competitors and by restricting the way app developers sell to customers.
It fined the company €460 million ($524.7 million) and €430 million ($490 million) respectively, for the two separate misdemeanours. The fines took into account “the gravity and duration” of Google’s non-compliance, the European Commission said.
“We found that Google harms businesses offering similar services, such as shopping or sports, by not granting them the same level of prominence on Google Search,” Henna Virkkunen, the European commisioner in charge of tech sovereignty said in a statement.
