EU risks Donald Trump backlash with $1bn fine on Google

The European Union (EU) has imposed another big fine on a US tech giant in defiance of warnings of reprisals from Donald Trump.

Google has been ordered to pay a total of $1bn (£759m) for two breaches of competition laws, the European Commission said.

Its investigation found Google gave more prominence to its own services, including shipping and hotels, in Google Search results. The penalty for that was worth £392m.

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The balance was made up by a £367m sum for the company's failure to steer customers towards potentially cheaper services on the Google Play app store, the Commission said.

The ruling, under the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA), followed the recent loss of an appeal by Google against a £3.5bn fine imposed by the Commission for limiting competition and reducing consumer choice through the dominance of its mobile Android operating system.

The latest penalty will do nothing to warm already frosty relations between the EU and the US president.

It follows earlier DMA rulings this year against Meta and Apple.

US trade representative Jamieson Greer said: "The EU often claims ​that ⁠it is ⁠looking for stability ‌and predictability in our trading relationship, ‌but these actions are driving massive uncertainty for ⁠US exports ​of goods and services ​to Europe".

He complained that the DMA was targeting "the most competitive US companies" and claimed the fines were undermining efforts to resolve trade differences.

Mr Trump, who has frequently criticised Europe's regulation of US big tech, is facing calls from senior Republicans to escalate his trade war with Brussels.

A group of 25, including members of the House trade subcommittee, wrote to him this week complaining that US firms were being singled out and unfairly targeted.

"If a dialogue does not deliver quickly, the United States should use all available tools, including but not limited to Section 301 of the Trade Act of ​1974," they said, invoking an unfair trade practices law that allows the US to impose ​tariffs or take ⁠other retaliatory measures.

The letter concluded: "It is important to make clear that the EU's access to the US market is not guaranteed and can be limited should the EU continue to pursue discriminatory acts, policies, and practices in the digital sector."

The Commission's executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, Henna Virkkunen, said of its fines: "Google must now bring the non-compliance to an end and to refrain from continuing it in the future.

"Today's decisions send a clear message: we will not hesitate to use our tools to safeguard business and innovation opportunities opened up by the Digital Markets Act."

Google's president of global affairs, Kent Walker, criticised the fine as "product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants" that will have a negative impact on European businesses and consumers.

He said the DMA forces Google "to strip away real-time search features Europeans love - like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants - and dismantle safety protections on Google Play".

(c) Sky News 2026: EU risks Donald Trump backlash with $1bn fine on Google