Brussels is preparing to fine Google hundreds of millions of euros as its Big Tech rule book starts biting properly.
According to the Financial Times the European Commission is set to unveil a string of decisions against Google this week, stepping up enforcement as tensions with Washington ease.
Internal Commission documents point to fresh orders under the Digital Markets Act and threats of daily penalty payments. The fines relate to two long-running investigations into Google’s behaviour.
In the first, the Commission is expected to find Google illegally favoured its own shopping, travel and other specialised services in search results. In the second, Brussels is expected to force Google to give Play Store app developers more freedom to steer users to rival mobile app systems.
Under the DMA, companies can be fined up to 10 per cent of global turnover.
Google’s parent, Alphabet, reported revenue of $402.83 billion last year, which gives Brussels plenty of room to make the bill sting.
Google could face periodic penalty payments if it fails to comply within 60 days. That comes despite months of talks between Google and the Commission aimed at settling the probes with a fine for past behaviour alone.
The documents do not spell out the exact level of fines or extra penalties. They do say Google’s non-compliance “should be considered as serious”.
Last year, the EU fined the Fruity Cargo Cult Apple €500 million and Meta €200 million for breaching DMA rules over a shorter period.
The new Google action follows earlier antitrust fines of more than €8 billion between 2017 and 2019.
Google said it was “keen to bring these investigations to a close so we can get back to developing innovative products for our users.”
It added: “The changes we’ve already made to Search under the DMA represent the biggest downgrade in the product’s history, creating a second-rate experience for Europeans to the benefit of a few self-interested complainants.”
Brussels’ move comes as tensions between the EU and the US over the bloc’s digital rulebook appear to have cooled a bit. US President Donald Trump had previously attacked EU fines against US tech companies, calling them a “form of taxation”.
The fines are expected to follow two more Brussels moves against Google. This week, the Commission is set to decide whether Google must give third-party search engines access to search data.
That could include ranking, query, click and view data, which Google claims would put user privacy at risk and amount to regulatory overreach.
Brussels will set out how far Google must give third-party AI providers access to the same features available to Gemini. The aim is to stop Google giving its own AI toys a nicer seat at the table.
The Commission is under pressure from civil society groups, European lawmakers and rival tech outfits to keep enforcing the DMA.
The law was designed to curb the dominance of tech giants in the digital marketplace, rather than politely ask them to behave. That pressure has grown as the bloc chases greater tech sovereignty and tries to rely less on US technology providers.
European AI companies are pushing for a fairer market while Washington grumbles whenever its biggest tech cash cows get clipped.
