Google was fined one billion USD by Europe

The announcement made on July 23 marked the first time the search giant received a penalty from Europe's Digital Markets Act (DMA). The law takes effect in 2024 to curb the power of large technology corporations, prevent monopolistic behavior, promote fair competition and allow users to flexibly choose services.

The fine is divided into two parts. Of which, 460 million euros (525 million USD) was for favoring Google services on the search engine. Specifically, the company is accused of displaying its services such as shopping, hotel booking, airline tickets, and sports in a prominent position at the top of the page or using visual filters that competitors do not have.

The remaining 430 million euros ($464 million) fines restrictions and anti-navigation policies on the Play Store app store. The EC believes that Google prevents developers from informing users about cheaper methods of purchasing applications or registering for service packages outside such as their own website or other application market.

According to Apple Insider, the European Commission requires Google to completely stop the violations and implement corrective measures within 60 days. If it fails to comply on time, the company will be subject to periodic fines of up to 5% of average daily global revenue. With revenue of more than $400 billion last year, this addition will be huge.

The EC representative said that Google has made significant progress when proactively discussing and testing a number of changes in the way shopping ads and content services are displayed. The US technology giant still has the right to file a protest and appeal the decision to a higher European court.

The penalty for Google comes in the context of tense relations between the EU and US technology corporations. Before Google, Apple was also fined 500 million euros ($573 million) by the EU last year for the same reason. At that time, the company was said to restrict developers from navigating users outside the App Store. Earlier this month, the EU Supreme Court also rejected Apple's appeal against the company being classified as a "gatekeeper" under DMA law.