BRUSSELS, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission fined Google 890 million euros (about 1.02 billion U.S. dollars) on Thursday for breaching the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA) by favoring its own services in search results and preventing app developers from directing users to cheaper offers outside its Play Store.

File photo: AFP

The EU executive imposed a 430 million euro (about 491 million dollars) fine over the restrictions on app developers and a separate 460 million euro (about 525 million dollars) penalty for self-preferencing in search results.

The combined penalty is the largest imposed on a single company under the DMA.

The Commission said Google gave preferential treatment to its own shopping, hotel, transportation and sports services by displaying them more prominently in search results than competing third-party services.

Under the DMA, large technology companies designated as "gatekeepers" are prohibited from ranking their own services more favorably than similar services offered by third parties. Google's parent company, Alphabet, was designated as a gatekeeper for services including Google Search and Google Play in September 2023.

The Commission also found that Google prevented developers distributing apps through Google Play from informing users about alternative, often cheaper, offers available on their own websites or through third-party app stores.

The Commission ordered Google to end both practices within 60 days by treating competing services fairly in search results and allowing app developers to promote alternative offers and complete transactions outside its app store.

Failure to comply could expose Google to additional daily penalties. Under the DMA, the Commission may impose periodic penalties of up to 5 percent of a company's average daily worldwide turnover in the previous financial year for each day of non-compliance.

Google is the third company to be fined under the DMA. The Commission fined Apple 500 million euros (about 570 million dollars) and Meta 200 million euros (about 228 million dollars) in 2025.

In a separate antitrust case, the Commission fined Google 4.343 billion euros (about 4.95 billion dollars) in 2018 for imposing anti-competitive restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators.

The EU's General Court partially annulled the decision in 2022 but upheld its main findings and reduced the fine to 4.125 billion euros (about 4.71 billion dollars).

The Court of Justice of the European Union dismissed an appeal by Google and its parent company Alphabet on July 2, upholding the reduced penalty.