The European Commission has charged Google with two violations of landmark EU regulations while ordering Apple to open its ecosystem to competitors, intensifying its crackdown on Big Tech.
The charges, announced Wednesday, stem from alleged breaches of the Digital Markets Act—a law designed to curb the power of major tech firms. The move comes despite warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump that penalties on American companies could result in retaliatory tariffs.
The EU’s competition watchdog found Google guilty of restricting app developers from steering users to better deals outside its Google Play store and favoring its own services—such as Google Flights, Google Hotels, and Google Shopping—in search results.
According to regulators, Google’s policies unfairly limit competition by making it harder for businesses to reach consumers outside its ecosystem. The company also faces criticism over its service fee structure, which the Commission says exceeds what is justified for app distribution.
Google pushed back against the findings, arguing that the changes imposed by EU regulators would hurt both consumers and businesses.
“The Commission’s findings require us to make even more changes to how we show certain types of search results, which would make it harder for people to find what they are looking for and reduce traffic to European businesses,” said Oliver Bethell, Google’s senior director for competition.
Google has already been fined more than €8 billion ($8.7 billion) over the past decade for various antitrust violations in the EU. If found guilty under the DMA, it could face additional fines of up to 10% of its global annual sales.
Meanwhile, Apple has been ordered to allow competing smartphone, headphone, and virtual reality headset manufacturers to integrate their devices more seamlessly with its iOS operating system. The EU’s second directive also sets a timeline for Apple to enable interoperability for third-party apps.
Apple strongly opposed the order, calling it a threat to innovation.
“Today’s decisions wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don’t have to play by the same rules,” the company said in an email statement.
Apple now faces a compliance review, and failure to meet EU demands could trigger a formal investigation and potential fines.
EU regulators have ramped up enforcement against major tech firms as part of broader efforts to promote competition in digital markets. EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera emphasized that the latest actions against Google and Apple were meant to ensure fair play.
“These measures ensure that Alphabet abides by EU rules when it comes to two services widely used by businesses and consumers across the EU—Google Search and Android phones,” she stated.
