A fine of 1 billion euros will be announced on Thursday, and it relates to two major cases involving abuse of market power.
The first case, according to Euronews citing the German business newspaper Handelsblatt, concerns whether Google gives preferential treatment to its own services in online search results, while the second focuses on suspicions that the company prevents app developers from advertising ways to download apps outside of the Google Play Store.
The exact amount of the fine will be determined at a meeting of the College of Commissioners, the EU’s executive body headed by Ursula von der Leyen.
The European Commission launched both proceedings in March 2024.
Google has not publicly commented on the Handelsblatt report, and the European Commission’s press office had not responded to a request from Euronews at the time of publication.
Criticism from the U.S. President
The fine is provided for under the DMA, which requires all technology companies operating in the EU to comply with competition rules in order to provide users with a wider range of choices.
The DMA legislation had previously been sharply criticized by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The report came a few days after the European Commission required Google to share search query data with competing search engines starting in January 2027 and to open up the Android operating system to competing AI-based services under the DMA regulations.
At the time, the EU’s Digital Commissioner, Henna Wirkkunen, stated that this would give users in the EU “a wider choice” of services.
Google’s head of global affairs, Kent Walker, in turn, warned that the EU’s move risks “undermining vital privacy and security protections for millions of Europeans.”
Fines for violating the DMA can reach 10% of a company’s total global revenue.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reported record annual revenue of $402.8 billion (€353.08 billion) in 2025.
