The European Commission has slapped Google with a €890 million fine for breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the first time the tech giant faces penalties under this key EU regulation. The decision, announced on July 23, 2026, addresses two separate violations tied to how Google operates its search engine and app store.
Specifically, Google was fined €460 million for favoring its own services within Google Search results, a practice regulators call self-preferencing. The other €430 million fine targets restrictions Google enforced on app developers using its Google Play Store. These restrictions prevented developers from informing users about alternative, often cheaper, payment options outside Google’s payment system.
Impact on Fintech and Crypto Apps
The Play Store fine hits fintech and crypto developers hard. Before this ruling, if a crypto exchange or trading app wanted to alert users that cheaper fees were available by subscribing through a browser instead of the in-app payment system, Google’s policies blocked such messages. The DMA introduced anti-steering rules to prevent this kind of gatekeeping and empower app creators.
Google now has 60 days to adjust its practices. If it fails, the Commission may impose extra fines reaching up to 5% of Google’s average daily global revenue. This action pushes Google’s total EU competition fines past €10 billion, a sum amassed through ongoing probes into its search, Android, and advertising operations.
While these penalties are Google’s first under the DMA, the law has already been used against Apple, which paid a €200 million fine in 2025 for similar anti-steering offenses in its App Store.
Some voices, like those from the previous US administration, have criticized these fines, labeling them as disguised trade barriers targeting American tech. European officials counter that their enforcement simply applies competition rules equally to all companies active in the EU market.
