Google search, Play Store falling foul of Digital Markets Act rules, says EU

Google Search and its Play Store app marketplace are suspected of breaching the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), per preliminary findings announced Wednesday by EU Commission enforcers of the bloc’s flagship market contestability law, who have been investigating the company for months. The DMA applies to a handful of tech giants, Alphabet (Google’s parent) included. Aspects of Google’s business have been under investigation by the EU since March 2024, shortly after the regime came into force. Confirmed violations of the DMA can attract sanctions of up to 10% of global annual turnover, so the stakes are high for Google. However, it’s important to note that the EU has not reached a final conclusion on this probe as yet. The EU’s preliminary findings on Google are two-fold: One relates to Google Search, where Commission enforcers believe Google is breaching the DMA’s requirement not to treat its own services more favorably than rivals’ — the DMA bans self-preferencing. “Alp ... Read full article.