EU Prepares Major Fine for Google, Reports Media
The European Union is preparing a substantial fine against Google over alleged breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), with investigations into the US tech giant nearing completion, according to German newspaper Handelsblatt citing European Commission sources.
The exact amount of the fine has not been officially announced, the report stated on Tuesday (26 May). The penalty is calculated based on the company’s revenue, with European officials reportedly seeking a fine of several hundred million euros. Last year, Google reported a record revenue of approximately US$400 billion (Rp7.115 trillion).
The European Commission has the authority to impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s global annual turnover. However, sources indicate the fine for Google is likely to be significantly lower than the maximum due to concessions made by the company.
Brussels accuses Google and its parent company, Alphabet, of promoting their own services in search results to the detriment of competitors. Specifically, the complaints relate to the display of Google Flights and AI Overview, an AI-generated search summary from the Gemini system.
Following EU demands, the company has started featuring competing services more prominently. However, the European Commission deems these concessions insufficient, particularly regarding AI Overview. The newspaper reports that Brussels believes Google is leveraging its dominant position as a search engine to promote its own AI products, disrupting fair competition.
On the other hand, Google has stated it is willing to cooperate with regulators but argues many of the demands are counterproductive, claiming recent changes have worsened the user experience in Europe. The newspaper also noted that the potential fine could heighten tensions between the EU and the US. US President Donald Trump has previously criticised EU sanctions on American tech firms, labelling them as trade barriers. The DMA came into effect in the EU to curb the dominance of major digital platforms and impose specific obligations on companies with dominant market positions.