The European Commission just handed Google a bill for €890 million, and for once, it’s not for something that happened a decade ago. The fine, announced on July 23, represents the first enforcement action under the EU’s Digital Markets Act against Google, targeting the company for giving its own services preferential treatment in search results and restricting app developers in the Play Store.
For context, this brings Google’s total EU antitrust tab to over €10 billion. At this point, Brussels might want to consider naming a conference room after the company.
What Google actually did
The penalty breaks down into two chunks. The first, €460 million, targets self-preferencing in Google Search. The Commission found that Google gave its own services more prominent placements and fancier visual displays compared to competitors.
The second chunk, €430 million, addresses Google Play Store practices. The Commission determined that Google’s policies prevented app developers from telling users about cheaper ways to buy things outside the Play Store.
