EU fines Google $1B, sparking US trade threats

The European Commission on Thursday fined Alphabet's ↗ 1.62% Google €890 million ($1 billion) for violating the Digital Markets Act, marking the largest penalty levied against a single company under the EU's landmark digital competition law and deepening a rift with Washington over the regulation of American tech giants.

Two Violations, Two Fines

The penalty comprises two separate findings of non-compliance. The Commission imposed €460 million for Google's practice of giving preferential treatment to its own services — including shopping, hotels, transport, and sports results — over those of third parties in search results. A second fine of €430 million targeted Google's restrictions on app developers in the Google Play store, where the company limited developers' ability to steer consumers toward cheaper purchasing options outside the platform.fxnewsgroup+2

Google must end both violations within 60 days or face periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of its worldwide daily turnover. The company pushed back on the ruling. "This implementation of the DMA continues to break everyday products," Google President of Global Affairs Kent Walker said, arguing the company is being forced to "strip away real-time Search features Europeans love."digital-markets-act.europa+2

The decision follows DMA fines against Apple ↘ 0.21% (€500 million) and Meta ↘ 0.82% (€200 million) in April 2025 for their own violations of the rulebook, making Google's penalty the third enforcement action under the act.techpolicy+1

US Fires Back

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer responded swiftly, calling the fine part of "an increasingly aggressive" EU approach that unfairly targets American companies. He said the bloc's various fines against Google alone now exceed 2% of the EU budget — "a larger 'contribution' than many EU member states" — and warned the penalties are "driving massive uncertainty for U.S. exports of goods and services to Europe."euractiv+1

Greer also took aim at a separate Commission order requiring Google to share search data with rivals and grant third-party AI developers access to Android, describing it as "a de facto forced transfer of technology and intellectual property."euractiv

Bracing for Retaliation

The fine landed as transatlantic trade relations remain fragile. A global 10% US import levy was set to expire on July 24, and Brussels has expressed uncertainty about how Washington intends to honor commitments under last year's EU-US trade deal to cap tariffs on European exports at 15%.euronews

Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament's trade committee, told Euronews the EU should "brace for further action from the US" following the fine. In a post on X, Lange wrote that "EU digital law is not a trade provocation" and warned that if Washington "uses the €890 million in fines against Google to impose extra tariffs or undermine the Scotland commitments, the EU must respond."news.yahoo+2

Earlier this week, 25 Republican members of Congress urged President Trump to take "decisive action" against the EU's enforcement of the DMA, naming Nokia ↘ 1.90%, Volkswagen, BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Ikea, and Airbus among European companies that could face US retaliation.euronews