The European Union is on the verge of delivering its most consequential Digital Markets Act enforcement action yet: a high triple-digit-million-euro fine against Alphabet’s Google for illegally favoring its own services in search results, a case that now sits on the desk of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
According to sources cited by Germany’s Handelsblatt, the EU Commission’s internal proceedings against Google are nearing completion, with an official announcement expected before the summer legislative recess.
If confirmed, the penalty would be the largest fine ever imposed under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the EU’s landmark rulebook that designates dominant digital platforms as “gatekeepers” and mandates fair access for competitors.
EU Finalizes DMA Fine Against Google
Brussels formally launched its investigation on March 25, 2024, accusing Alphabet of violating DMA rules by promoting its own vertical search services, including Google Shopping, Google Flights, and Google Hotels, over competing third-party comparison platforms.
The EU’s preliminary findings concluded that this self-preferencing behavior prevented suppliers and competitors from receiving equitable opportunities for ranking in Google Search results.
In a broader regulatory context, over 30 civil society organizations, led by the Open Markets Institute Europe, wrote to Commission President von der Leyen in May 2026, expressing “grave concern” that a DMA fine originally scheduled for March 2026 had reportedly been delayed at her personal direction.
The penalty against a flagship American corporation comes shortly after the EU finalized a transatlantic customs agreement with Washington, and Commission President von der Leyen remains visibly cautious about reigniting diplomatic friction with the Trump administration.
The €2.95 billion fine the EU levied against Google in September 2025 for AdTech self-preferencing had already drawn outrage from President Trump, according to Handelsblatt.
Despite the political headwinds, EU Commission officials are pressing forward. The final decision on the penalty amount, currently estimated at the high hundreds of millions of euros, rests exclusively with von der Leyen, according to insiders.
Google has not remained passive. In May 2026, the company proposed changes to its news search display rules and anti-spam policies in a bid to preempt or soften formal enforcement action under a related DMA investigation.
Separately, the EU has also proposed requiring Google to share user search data with rival search engines.
The pending Google fine follows a clear enforcement trajectory. In April 2025, the EU issued its first DMA non-compliance decisions, fining Apple €500 million for App Store steering violations and Meta €200 million for its consent-or-pay data model.
Under DMA provisions, fines can reach up to 10% of a company’s annual global turnover, a ceiling that could expose Alphabet to penalties exceeding $35 billion based on its 2024 revenues.
Security and compliance officers operating within EU-regulated environments should treat this escalation as a signal: DMA enforcement is now entering its most aggressive phase, with implications for platform interoperability, third-party data access, and the competitive landscape of digital security tooling.
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