Google Faces the Largest DMA Fine as EU Regulators Finalize Antitrust Case
In Focus
- The EU charged Google under the Digital Markets Act in March 2025
- Google was accused of self-promotion practices where it favored its own services
- The European Commission will likely announce the fine before August 2026
The European Commission could fine Google hundreds of millions of euros as part of an antitrust investigation. The penalty will likely be the highest that the EU regulator has ever imposed on a big tech over violation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The European Commission is finalizing the decision about the Google DMA fine and will likely announce it before August 2026.
Why is the EU Penalizing Google?
The EU formally launched a Google self-preferencing investigation in March 2024. Initial findings showed that Google’s search practices amounted to self-promotion, which is prohibited under Article 6 of the Act. In March 2025, EU regulators formally notified Alphabet that its search ranking practices violated the DMA.
The tech giant was accused of favoring its own services, especially in travel, shopping, and local search, in search rankings. For these violations, the penalty could surpass the €200 million fine imposed on Apple in April 2025 over non-compliance with the DMA in App Store practices.
News about the Google antitrust penalty comes months after publishers, startups, and tech firms in Europe called on antitrust regulators to accelerate the Google Search fine arguing that prolonged investigation into the antitrust case was damaging companies and weakening their ability to invest and grow.
How Does the EU Compute DMA Fines?
The DMA allows regulators in the EU to fine tech companies that are designated as gatekeepers fines of up to 10% of their global annual turnover for a first offence. The penalty rises to 20% for repeat offences. Going by Alphabet’s recent revenues, a10% penalty could amount to $35 billion. Despite the fine, the European Commission appears keen on ensuring compliance.
“Even with our negotiations on future solutions, we will not hesitate to move to the next steps as soon as possible,” EU Spokesperson Thomas Regnier noted as cited by CNBC.
While Google appears keen to resolve the antitrust case, it has taken issue with the DMA rules and their impact on its search products.
“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 said.
Earlier this month, the EU allowed Google additional time to address Digital Markets Act (DMA) violations after terming its anti-spam rules as inadequate.
What Other Probes is Google Facing in the EU?
Google is also facing a separate probe in the EU over alleged demotion of news publishers in search results. The search giant is not the only U.S. big tech facing probes in the EU. Last year, the bloc intensified its regulatory push on Apple over its App Store business model. Previously, the Commission has imposed billions of euros in fines on the two tech giants over anti-competitive practices.
