Google updates EU Play Store terms after antitrust charges

Google will update its Google Play terms in the European Union after facing charges of breaching the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The DMA is a new law aimed at curbing the power of major tech firms.

EU regulators accused Google of making it difficult for app developers to inform users about offers outside the Play Store, and of charging excessive service fees.

The European Commission also raised concerns about Google possibly favoring its own vertical search services, such as Google Flights.

Google said it will revise its External Offers Program for the EU, including changes to fees and more options for Android developers, following talks with regulators.

The company has previously been fined over 8 billion euros by the EU for antitrust issues, and could face further penalties if found to have breached the DMA.

🔗 Source: The Economic Times

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Google’s compliance reflects escalating EU enforcement costs

Google’s latest concessions represent the culmination of a costly seven-year battle with European regulators that has fundamentally changed its business approach.

Since 2017, Google has paid over €8 billion in EU antitrust fines, including a record €4.34 billion penalty in 2018 specifically targeting its Android app store practices2.

The current changes follow the same pattern seen in previous cases where Google initially resisted, then gradually made concessions to avoid even steeper penalties.

Under the Digital Markets Act, Google now faces potential fines of up to 10% of its global annual sales, which could exceed $30 billion based on Alphabet’s 2023 revenue1.

This financial pressure explains why Google is proactively updating its policies rather than waiting for formal violations, marking a strategic shift from its previous approach of fighting each case through lengthy appeals processes.

2️⃣ The DMA represents a fundamental shift from reactive to proactive tech regulation

The EU’s approach has evolved from punishing past violations to preventing future ones through systematic platform regulation.