Antitrust & Competition fines

The Commission ruled that Google required phone makers to pre-install Search and Chrome as a condition of licensing the Play Store, paid manufacturers for exclusivity, and blocked forked versions of Android. It remains the largest antitrust fine the EU has issued.

The Commission found that Google abused its dominance across the advertising-technology stack by favouring its own ad exchange (AdX) in both its publisher ad server and its ad-buying tools, a conflict of interest across the chain.

The European Commission found that Google abused its search dominance by systematically placing its own comparison-shopping service at the top of results while demoting rival services.

Following a Spotify complaint, the Commission found that Apple banned music apps from telling iPhone users about cheaper subscription options available outside the App Store.

The Commission fined Google for imposing clauses on websites using AdSense for Search that blocked them from displaying rival search ads. In September 2024 the EU General Court annulled the decision.

Italy's AGCM found that Amazon tied key seller benefits, such as the Prime badge and better visibility, to using its own logistics service (FBA), disadvantaging rival logistics providers.

The Commission penalised Microsoft for charging unreasonable royalties for the interoperability information required by the 2004 decision. On appeal the penalty was trimmed to €860M.

The European Commission found that Meta tied Facebook Marketplace to its social network and imposed unfair conditions on rival online-classifieds services.

All 50 states settled antitrust claims over Play Store billing restrictions and deals that limited rival app stores. Of the total, $630M went to a consumer fund and $70M to the states.

The Commission fined Microsoft for breaking a legally binding commitment to show Windows users a browser-choice screen, which silently disappeared for roughly 15 million users. It was the first EU fine for breaching commitments.

France's competition authority fined Google for failing to negotiate in good faith with news publishers over payment for news snippets under the EU's neighbouring-rights rules.

In the first Digital Markets Act fine against Apple, the Commission found that Apple prevented developers from freely informing users about, and directing them to, cheaper purchasing options outside the App Store.

In a landmark case, the Commission found that Microsoft abused its Windows dominance by bundling Media Player and withholding interoperability information from rival server-software makers.

France's competition authority fined Apple over anticompetitive agreements with premium resellers that froze the reseller market and kept prices aligned. On appeal the fine was cut to €372M.

The Commission imposed a periodic penalty for Microsoft's failure to comply with the 2004 decision, specifically for not supplying complete interoperability information on reasonable terms.

France's competition authority found that Google favoured its own ad server and ad exchange in online display advertising, and accepted binding commitments alongside the fine.

South Korea's Fair Trade Commission fined Google for blocking device makers from using customised (forked) versions of Android.

France's competition authority found that Apple's App Tracking Transparency consent design over-burdened third-party apps while Apple's own advertising faced lighter requirements, an abuse of its dominant position.

The Competition Commission of India fined Google for abusing Android's dominance through forced pre-installs and anti-forking restrictions on device makers.

In a companion decision, the CCI fined Google for forcing app developers to use Google Play Billing and its associated commission.

The Dutch ACM levied ten consecutive weekly penalties of €5M after Apple repeatedly failed to comply with an order to let dating apps use alternative payment systems.