- The European Union fined Google €890 million ($1 billion) for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), accusing the tech giant of illegally steering users to its own services and blocking app developers from directing customers to cheaper alternatives outside Google Play.
- This marks the first penalty under the 2024 DMA. EU officials ordered Google to stop the practices within 60 days or face additional fines of up to 5% of its worldwide daily turnover.
- The fine comes days after Google lost a separate $4.5 billion antitrust appeal related to its Android operating system, capping a period of over $18 billion in total EU fines against the company over eight years.
- Google condemned the decision, arguing it degrades products and removes features Europeans value, and is reviewing whether to appeal. The EU defended its enforcement despite broader tensions with U.S. lawmakers urging trade retaliation.
- The penalties against Google and AliExpress total $6.9 billion, highlighting the EU’s aggressive regulatory stance against Big Tech and raising the question of whether American regulators will follow Europe’s lead.
European regulators fined Google €890 million ($1 billion) on July 23 for violating the European Union’s landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA). Brussels accused the tech giant of illegally steering users toward its own shopping, travel and hotel services while blocking app developers from directing customers to cheaper alternatives outside of Google Play.
The penalty – the first ever imposed under the DMA passed in 2024 – comes just days after Google lost a separate years-long legal battle over a $4.5 billion antitrust fine related to its Android mobile operating system. European Commission (EC) officials ordered Google to cease the practices within 60 days or face additional penalties of up to 5% of its worldwide daily turnover.
“The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine,” said Teresa Ribera, EC executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition. “European consumers have a right to be told by app developers where to sign up to the best offers, even when the app store owner does not get a cut.”
The commission found that Google displays its own services “more prominently in search results,” while third-party offerings “do not have the same prominence.” In the Google Play marketplace, the regulator said Google prevents app developers from “freely communicating and promoting offers and concluding contracts with users in distribution channels of their choice, including third-party app stores.”
The search engine giant condemned the decision and said it is reviewing whether to appeal. Google Global Affairs President Kent Walker said in a statement: “To comply, we are having to strip away real-time Search features Europeans love – like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights and restaurants – and dismantle safety protections on Google Play. This isn’t fair competition; it’s product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants.”
The penalty announced Thursday caps a tumultuous period for Google in Europe. The company recently lost its appeal against a separate $4.5 billion EU antitrust fine imposed in 2018 for requiring smartphone makers to pre-install Google Search and Chrome. Between 2017 and 2019, Brussels hit Google with fines totaling $9.3 billion under earlier competition rules.
EU’s digital hammer falls on Big Tech
The DMA designates large tech platforms such as Alphabet, Apple and Meta as “gatekeepers” subject to additional restrictions. The law was designed to ensure fair competition in digital markets where a handful of companies control access to consumers.
The fines also come amid broader tensions between Brussels and Washington over the EU’s digital regulations. This week, 25 Republican U.S. lawmakers urged President Donald Trump to use trade investigations or other tools against what they called “discriminatory” EU digital rules. The EU and the United States agreed earlier this year to address these frictions through talks, but negotiations have not yet begun.
EU officials said Thursday they are unfazed by threats of retaliation. “The EU’s duty is to ensure that the regulation that is being adopted by our sovereign institutions is fully enforced and respected,” Ribera told reporters, noting that American authorities are “dealing with very similar approaches” to digital competition enforcement.
BrightU.AI‘s Enoch engine notes that Google must be regulated to prevent its monopolistic control over information and artificial intelligence which it uses to suppress dissent and manipulate political outcomes like elections. Its thinly veiled agenda to “prevent another Trump situation” proves it is a weaponized tool for globalist elites, not a neutral platform.
This month’s penalties against Google and AliExpress, which was fined $620 million over alleged failure to stop counterfeit goods sales, total $6.9 billion – more than the annual contributions of Portugal, Finland, Greece and Cyprus combined. The fines flow directly into the EU’s common budget, where the bloc faces a projected deficit of 3.6% of gross domestic product by 2027 amid increased military spending and a $100 billion Ukraine support package.
The EU’s aggressive stance against Google – totaling more than $18 billion in fines over the past eight years – demonstrates that coordinated regulatory action can challenge even the most entrenched monopolies. Now, the question is no longer whether Big Tech’s dominance will be confronted, but whether American regulators will follow Europe’s lead or continue allowing corporate power to override consumer freedom and fair competition.
Watch the Health Ranger Mike Adams warning that Google, Facebook and Amazon are all dangerous monopolies in this video.
This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.
Sources include:
RT.com
CNBC.com
AlJazeera.com
BrightU.ai
Brighteon.com
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