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E.U. Fines Google $1 Billion and Orders It To Give Competitors Equal Treatment

European regulators claim to promote innovation while extracting billions from the companies producing it.

Reem Ibrahim | 7.23.2026 5:05 PM

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(Illustration: Motion5, SteveAllenPhoto999, Africaimages/Envato)

The European Commission has hit Google with two fines totaling $1 billion for breaking digital antitrust regulations. What egregious sin did the tech giant commit to warrant such hefty fees? Setting up the Google search engine and Google Play Store to encourage consumers to purchase Google's services, which the European Commission says violates the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The Commission alleges that Google unfairly promoted its own shopping, hotel, transport, and sports services in search results while limiting other app developers' ability to advertise and complete purchases outside Google Play. Google now must take steps to "treat third-party services that feature on Google's search results in a fair and non-discriminatory manner" and allow app developers to distribute their apps via the Google Play Store "both technically and contractually, to freely communicate, promote offers and conclude contracts with users not........

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