EU Plans High Triple-Digit Million Euro Fine Against Google Over Digital Markets Act Violations

The European Union is preparing to levy a high triple-digit million euro fine against Alphabet's Google as part of an antitrust investigation into whether the company improperly favors its own services in search results, according to a report citing commission sources.

The decision is nearing completion and is expected to be announced before the summer break, Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper reported, adding that it would represent the largest penalty the EU has imposed for a breach of its Digital Markets Act.

The investigation was officially launched in March 2025 and centers on concerns that Google tilts its search results toward its own products and services, potentially disadvantaging competitors and harming consumers in a manner that runs counter to the DMA, which was designed to curb the market power of large technology companies.

The European Commission has signaled that achieving compliance, rather than collecting fines, remains its primary objective. "Even with our negotiations on future solutions, we will not hesitate to move to the next steps as soon as possible," commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said in an emailed statement.

Earlier this month, the Commission granted Google additional time to address regulators' concerns after an earlier proposal from the company was deemed insufficient.

Google has pushed back on the DMA's requirements, arguing that changes it has already implemented have harmed its product for European users. "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," a company spokesperson said.

The company has separately said it remains eager to resolve the matter.

The potential fine arrives at a moment of heightened regulatory scrutiny of major technology platforms across both the European Union and the United States. The DMA, which took effect in 2023, imposes specific behavioral obligations on designated "gatekeepers" — large platforms whose dominance gives them the ability to act as bottlenecks between businesses and consumers.

A penalty at the high end of the triple-digit million euro range would signal that Brussels is prepared to use its enforcement tools forcefully, even as it continues to negotiate structural remedies with the company. The outcome could shape how other designated gatekeepers under the DMA interpret and respond to the Commission's compliance expectations in the months ahead.

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