July 23, 2026, 12:09 p.mJuly 23, 2026, 12:30 p.m
(symbol image)Image: keystone
The European Union has imposed a fine of 890 million euros on the US tech group Google for unfair business practices. This comes from a statement from ZDF out.
According to the European Commission, Google is said to have violated applicable competition rules and its illegality with its search engine and the Google Play app marketplace.
Specifically, the US company is accused of presenting its own offerings, such as Google’s sports results or hotel search, more prominently in the search results. For example, your own products would be displayed more clearly compared to those of your competitors through visually highlighted displays.
And with regard to the app marketplace Google Play, the group is supposed to prevent app developers from advertising cheaper offers of their products on other platforms (such as competitor Apple’s app store).
Google: Decision destroys services
Google itself has commented on the verdict. The company announced on Wednesday that the decision was once again disrupting services used on a daily basis: “In order to meet the requirements, we have to remove real-time search functions that Europeans value, such as instant price offers and direct availability of hotels, flights and restaurants.”
European entrepreneurs and consumers would ultimately bear the suffering. And: “Regulation should improve products and not make them worse.”
Conflict with Trump
Even before the decision in the EU case, there was speculation as to whether such a punishment could anger US President Trump and have political consequences. His government had particularly criticized European digital laws when the Brussels authorities took action against US companies.
After a billion-dollar fine against Google in September 2025 for violating competition rules in the advertising business, Trump even threatened tariffs. The US President complained that the decision was the next blow to “a great American company”. Trump wrote on his online platform Truth Social at the time that he would be forced to initiate proceedings for new tariffs if US companies continued to be asked to pay.
Doesn’t think much of EU regulations: US President Donald Trump.Image: keystone
The timing of the punishment imposed is therefore particularly explosive. Because this Friday (July 24th) the time frame for import duties levied by the USA ends. Theoretically, Trump can use the same trade law to impose new tariffs based on a different paragraph.
Google classified as a gatekeeper
In the EU, Google’s parent Alphabet is considered a so-called gatekeeper according to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), meaning that its offerings represent an important gateway to consumers.
According to the DMA, companies such as Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft must adhere to special obligations to ensure fair competition in digital markets. The background is the fear that some large platform operators have become so powerful that they could cement their market position.
EU Commission demands changes
In addition to the fine, the Brussels competition authorities are also demanding that Google adapt its offers. On the one hand, third-party services would have to appear in search results in a fair and non-discriminatory manner compared to Google’s offerings. At the same time, the EU Commission welcomed the fact that Google had proposed changes to the presentation of its own services in Google search and was already testing them.
On the other hand, app developers should be given the opportunity, both technically and contractually, to advertise offers on other websites or app stores in the Google Play app marketplace. The US company could then charge a fee for the initial acquisition of a new customer. However, both the amount of this brokerage fee set by Google and the duration of the billing period have so far not been compatible with the EU rules.
Google now has 60 days to implement the changes. Otherwise, the US group faces regular penalties of up to five percent of global sales.
EU proceedings could end up in court again
Google can defend itself against the penalty in court. Most recently, similar decisions by the EU Commission led to legal proceedings, some of which lasted for years.
Just at the beginning of the month, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) confirmed a record competition fine imposed by the EU Commission in 2018. Google has to pay 4.1 billion euros after the ruling. The company imposed illegal restrictions on manufacturers of Android smartphones and mobile phone providers in order to strengthen the market dominance of its search engine, the judges in Luxembourg confirmed.
(cpf, supplemented with material from sda/dpa/awp)