The Crime of Winning: How Europe’s DMA Punishes Google for Competing

Lazar Radic July 23, 2026

Truth on the Market View Original Source

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Brussels has found a new way to punish success. Today, the European Commission fined Google €890 million under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) for two familiar business practices—featuring its own products and charging for customers its platform helps attract.

The Commission imposed €460 million for “self-preferencing,” or giving Google’s services prominent placement in search results, and €430 million for limiting how app developers direct users to cheaper offers outside Google Play.

Those nine-figure penalties reflect a broader shift in European competition policy. The DMA treats Google’s size and commercial success as evidence of an unfair imbalance that regulation must correct. The rest of the story turns on what Brussels means by “fair.”

Read the full piece here.