In a staggering revelation that surprised absolutely nobody who has used the internet since 2010, the European Commission officially concluded on July 23 that Google prefers its own services over everyone else’s.
After months of investigations, dialogue, preliminary findings, more dialogue, proposed fixes, testing, additional dialogue, and what must have been enough paperwork to fill Google’s data centers, the European Commission has finally concluded that Google cannot simply rank its own services above everyone else’s because… well… it owns the search engine.
The Commission announced fines totaling €890 million after finding Google in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) on two fronts: favoring its own services in Google Search and making life unnecessarily difficult for app developers trying to tell customers that cheaper purchasing options exist outside Google Play.
Apparently, informing users that “there’s a better deal over there” is frowned upon when you’re collecting the commission.
According to Brussels, Google consistently gave its own shopping, hotel, transport, and sports services VIP treatment in search results, complete with premium placement, flashy visuals, and helpful filters. Competing services? They were invited to the party but apparently seated behind the potted plant.
The Commission also took issue with Google’s “anti-steering” policies, which prevented app developers from freely directing customers to their own websites or alternative app stores where purchases might actually cost less.
In what may surprise absolutely no one who has ever published an app, the Commission concluded that Google’s steering fees and restrictions exceeded what Europe’s new digital rulebook considers acceptable.
Google now has 60 days to comply or risk periodic penalties worth up to 5% of its worldwide turnover—a figure that sounds terrifying until you remember Google’s accountants probably calculate numbers like that before breakfast.
The Commission was quick to note that the relationship hasn’t completely soured. Google has already begun testing changes to Search results, shopping listings, hotel and flight displays, and even its increasingly unavoidable AI-generated summaries. Officials described these efforts as “substantial progress,” which in Brussels translates roughly as, “You’re finally doing the thing we told you to do a year ago.”
The company has also started adjusting its Google Play policies, another encouraging sign that threatening nearly a billion euros in fines remains one of Europe’s more persuasive forms of communication.
Naturally, Google retains the right to appeal, ensuring that Europe’s lawyers, regulators, lobbyists, consultants, and probably several translators will continue enjoying stable employment for years to come.
After all, no modern tech dispute is complete until everyone spends another three years arguing about who gets to decide what appears first when you search for “cheap hotels.”
