Google was today fined 890 million euros ($1 billion) by the European Union for violating antitrust rules regarding its Google Play search and store services.
The European Commission found that Google had breached the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by using its dominant position in the search market to favor its own services, such as shopping and hotel deals, over those of its competitors.
The Commission also said the company abused its position by preventing developers from directing users to cheaper ways to purchase apps and app subscriptions on alternative websites and app stores.
Google was fined 460 million euros for its search practices and 430 million euros for its App Store rules. Going forward, the Commission ordered the company to treat third-party services in search results “fairly and without discrimination” and to allow developers to offer users alternatives outside of Google’s app store. From the EU press release:
In both decisions today, the Commission ordered Google to cease the non-compliance.
In particular, Google must implement measures to:
- Treat third-party services that appear in Google search results in a fair and non-discriminatory manner by referring to its own services, and
- Enable app developers distributing their apps through Google Play Store, both technically and contractually, to communicate freely, promote offers and enter into contracts with users, not only within but also outside the Google Play app store.
The Commission said the changes Google has already made to address the situation represent “substantial progress toward compliance.” Google has also reportedly proposed and begun testing changes to the way it presents commercial ads and content-related services, such as sports.
Google is required to comply with the Commission’s decisions within 60 days, failing which it faces penalties of up to 5% of its total global turnover. Google made just over $400 billion in revenue last year. She could still decide to appeal the decisions.
Apple is fighting a similar battle with the bloc’s regulators. The company was fined 500 million euros ($573 million) last year for blocking App Store developers from directing users to alternative offerings, and earlier this month the EU General Court separately rejected its challenges to its designation as a gatekeeper for the App Store and iOS.
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