EU may hit Google with record-breaking fine for antitrust violations

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.

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.

"Let me be clear: Our main focus is creating a culture of compliance with the Digital Markets Act," the Commission's Teresa Ribera said in a statement at the time. "Non-compliance proceedings are reserved for situations where attempts at dialogue have not been successful."

Unfortunately, the solutions Google has proposed thus far have failed to address the issue to the Commission's satisfaction. The Commission did grant Google additional time to develop stronger proposals earlier this month. However, Handelsblatt's report suggests that the company still hasn't provided an adequate response. If the Commission does proceed with fining Google, it will reportedly be the largest penalty ever imposed for violating the DMA.

For its part, Google claims that the actions it has been forced to take in response to the Commission's findings have negatively impacted the product it offers in the EU.

"The changes we've already made to Search under the DMA represent the ​biggest downgrade in the product's history, creating a ​second-rate experience ⁠for Europeans to the benefit of a few self-interested complainants," a Google spokesperson told Reuters.

This is far from the first time Google has fallen afoul of the EU's antitrust laws. The tech giant has previously faced scrutiny from the EU on a plethora of matters, including its search engine, restrictions on other phone designers, advertising business, and AI overviews.