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Google is now staring at yet another European Union antitrust hit, and this one could be the bloc’s biggest Digital Markets Act penalty yet.
German newspaper Handelsblatt reported Monday that Brussels is close to fining Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG, GOOGL) a high triple-digit million euro amount over the way Google shows its own services inside search results.
The report came soon after the EU put a customs deal with the United States into force, so another fight with a major American tech company could add fresh stress to transatlantic relations.
Handelsblatt said the process against Google is almost done, but the final decision still sits with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Ursula is expected to make the call before the summer recess. If the fine lands as planned, it would be the largest penalty ever issued under the DMA.
Brussels accuses Google of pushing its own services higher in search
The European Commission opened the Google search case in March 2025, looking at whether Google uses its search engine to send more traffic to its own services instead of treating rival companies fairly.
The Commission says its main goal is to force compliance, not just collect . Thomas Regnier, a spokesperson for the Commission, said regulators are still talking with the company about possible fixes. He also made clear that Brussels is ready to act if those talks do not deliver results.
“Even with our negotiations on future solutions, we will not hesitate to move to the next steps as soon as possible,” Thomas said.
Google has rejected the idea that the DMA has improved search for users. The company says the changes it already made in Europe have weakened the product.
“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 allegedly said.
Of course, this is not the first major controversy between Google and the EU’s antitrust enforcement officials. In 2010, the European Union opened a number of antitrust investigations into Google’s monopoly power. Three of these probes led to an accusation from the EU. This involved Google Search, Android, and AdSense by Google.
Google lost in all three probes. Their combined fines have exceeded €8 billion. Therefore, the case under the Digital Markets Act was expected.
EU regulators have already forced Google to change Android and adtech
For instance, the first case concerned the treatment of smartphone manufacturers by Google. According to the Commission, Google compelled manufacturers to install certain Google applications on their devices. Regulators claimed that Google made it difficult for mobile devices to use customized Android versions, which might have competed with Google’s own system.
App tying was another concern of regulators. They accused Google of making some of its apps interdependent in a manner that led to phone makers installing more Google apps in order to receive access to key apps. According to the Commission, such behavior was easy to understand, and it was likely for the owner of a powerful platform for mobile applications to protect its other products.
Eventually, in October 2018, Google modified its approach to providing services and selling applications to manufacturers. For instance, the company allowed phone and tablet makers to license the Google Play Store without being required to install all Google apps on their devices. However, if they still wanted Google apps installed on their devices, phone makers did not need to pay the license fee for the latter.
Later, in March 2019, Google promised that European Android users would receive an alternative choice during installation. Users would have several options for their browser and search engines instead of seeing Chrome and Google Search as the only available options.
In addition, the European Commission examined Google’s plan to buy Fitbit in 2020. The Commission approved the merger on December 17, 2020, provided certain conditions.
In terms of advertising, on September 4, 2025, the Commission fined Google for €2.95 billion, roughly $3.4 billion, for its anticompetitive practices in the adtech market. It should be noted that the EU antitrust authority launched its investigation in Google’s advertising business in May 2021.
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