EU: Google hit with a total fine of 890 million for breaches of the Digital Markets Act
The company must comply with the decisions within 60 days
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The European Commission has imposed two fines totalling 890 million euros on Google, finding that the company had committed two breaches of the Digital Markets Act relating to its search engine and the Google Play app store. According to a press release, the first fine, amounting to 460 million, relates to the preferential treatment Google gives to its own services in search results. According to Brussels, the group favours its own services – including those relating to shopping, hotels, transport and sports results – over those of competitors. Google – the Commission states – displays its own services in more prominent positions, including at the top of the page, and uses graphical elements and advanced filters that are not made available to third-party services on an equivalent basis. The Digital Markets Act, however, requires so-called ‘gatekeepers’ to apply transparent, fair and non-discriminatory conditions to search results, without favouring their own businesses. The second fine, amounting to 430 million, relates to restrictions imposed on developers who distribute their apps via Google Play. Under the DMA, developers must be able to inform users, free of charge, of the existence of alternative, often cheaper, offers and direct them to other purchasing channels, such as websites or competing app stores. The Commission has found that Google prevents developers from freely communicating and promoting these offers and from entering into contracts with users through the distribution channels of their choice. With these two decisions, the Commission has ordered Google to put an end to the infringements. Google must comply with the Commission’s decisions within 60 days. Failure to do so will result in periodic penalty payments of up to 5 per cent of its total worldwide turnover. Brussels will continue its dialogue with the company to ensure compliance with the two decisions and, more generally, with the obligations set out in the Digital Markets Act.
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