On July 23, Google was fined a total of €890 million ($1 billion) for violating antitrust rules in the technology sector.
However, the US tech giant is likely to avoid further fines as EU regulators have noted significant progress in its ongoing efforts to comply with the law.
The fines are further confirmation of Europe’s determination to prevent big tech companies from restricting competition and stifling the growth of rivals, despite criticism from the US and threats of tariffs.
The first fine of €460 million concerns the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for favoring its own services in search results, including shopping, hotels, transport, and sports scores.
The second fine of €430 million was for Google’s restrictions on its Google Play app store, which prevented app developers from redirecting users to cheaper offers in competing app stores or websites for free.
These fines were the first sanctions against the US tech giant under the DMA, but they are the fifth and sixth fines imposed on Google. The total fines the company has received in almost two decades have reached €10.38 billion.
Google has 60 days to comply with the European Commission’s requirements: to ensure fair and non-discriminatory treatment of competitors and to allow app developers to redirect users outside its own app store.
The company criticized the regulator’s findings and said it may challenge the decision in court.
However, the European Commission, which acts as the EU’s antitrust regulator, said it was in “constructive dialogue” with Google and that the company had made significant progress in complying with the DMA. This indicates that daily fines for noncompliance with regulations are unlikely to be imposed.