EU says it is in talks with Google over changes after €890M DMA fine

Google’s offices in London

The European Commission is in talks with Google about the steps the company may take following the EU’s €890M (about $1bn) fine in July. The Commission confirmed the talks on Wednesday to Reuters.

The fines were issued under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU law that sets rules for the largest online platforms.

In its July decision, the Commission fined Google €460M for placing its own shopping, hotel, transport and sports results above rival services in search.

It also fined the company €430m for stopping app developers from pointing users to cheaper offers outside Google Play, such as on their own websites or in other app stores.

At the same time, the Commission ordered Google to treat rival services in search fairly and to let developers steer users away from its app store.

They gave the company 60 days to comply, or face daily penalty payments of up to 5% of its average daily worldwide turnover.

According to the Commission, Google has since started changing how it displays search results. Moreover, it has also announced, and in part introduced, changes to the fees it charges developers on Google Play.

“We are currently in dialogue with Google, so I’ll not prejudge the outcome of this dialogue,” Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said, according to Reuters.

The Commission added that it will carefully assess Google’s measures. As part of that review, it will also seek views from companies in the market and other third parties.

Google criticised the decision when it was announced. Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, said the ruling would force it to remove real-time search features, such as live hotel and flight prices.

“This isn’t fair competition,” Walker said at the time.

The July fine was the first DMA penalty against Google. However, it is not the company’s only case under the law.

Earlier this year, Google also offered the Commission changes to its news-search ranking to settle a separate DMA investigation.

Story by Ana-Maria Stanciuc

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I am the Editor in Chief for TNW, covering technology not as a parade of launches and valuations, but as a system of influence, persuasion, (show all) I am the Editor in Chief for TNW, covering technology not as a parade of launches and valuations, but as a system of influence, persuasion, and change. I write about startups, venture capital, digital policy, and Europe ecosystem, with an eye on the larger story beneath them: who gets to build the future, who profits from it, and how Europe is learning to speak in a louder voice of its own. Before moving into senior editorial leadership, I've built my career for over +10 years across journalism, storytelling, content strategy, SEO, and digital publishing, with experience in SaaS, hospitality, art, and culture.