The EU fined Google about EUR890 million for self-preferencing in Search and Google Play under the Digital Markets Act. The regulator just put a price on a decade-old complaint every business fighting for organic visibility already knew.
The European Commission has fined Google about 890 million euros, roughly 1 billion US dollars, for playing favourites. Under the Digital Markets Act, the regulator hit Google with 460 million euros for self-preferencing in Search and another 430 million euros over Google Play. The charge is simple. Google used its own search results to push its own services ahead of everyone else's.
This is not a new accusation. It is the one that has followed Google for a decade. What is new is that a regulator with real teeth has now put a price on it and is willing to keep charging.
Why it matters
Every business fighting for organic visibility has felt this without being able to name it. You do the work, you earn the ranking, and then Google's own answer box, its own shopping unit or its own service sits above you and takes the click. The regulator just called that what it is. Self-preferencing. It does not change your rankings tomorrow. It does tell you who you are actually competing against, and it is often the platform itself.
Australia is watching. The ACCC has spent years scrutinising exactly this behaviour through its digital platforms work, and European rulings tend to shape what regulators here feel able to do next.
The EU fined Google about EUR890 million, close to US$1 billion, for self-preferencing in Search and Google Play under the Digital Markets Act. Source: European Commission via Search Engine Land.
What to do about it
You cannot out-argue the house. You can stop depending on it for every customer you get.