EU Fines Google €890M: Steering Rules Just Reopened
On 23 July 2026 the European Commission fined Google €890 million across two Digital Markets Act decisions: €460 million for self-preferencing its own services in Search, and €430 million for restricting app developers from steering customers to cheaper channels on Google Play. Both decisions order Google to end the conduct. For anyone running discovery, this is not a legal footnote. It is a shift in where traffic can now land and how you can route demand off Google without penalty.
In my opinion the steering ruling is the sleeper story. It quietly hands businesses back a lever most teams assumed was gone: the right to tell your customers there is a cheaper way to buy, and to send them there.
What actually changed
Two things, and they are worth separating because the mechanisms differ.
Self-preferencing in Search: the Commission found Google gives its own shopping, hotels, transport and sports results preferential ranking, placing them at the top of the page with enhanced visuals and filters that third-party services never get. That breaches the DMA obligation to rank on transparent, fair and non-discriminatory terms.
Anti-steering on Play: developers are now legally entitled to tell users, free of charge, about cheaper offers elsewhere (their own website, alternative app stores) and to send them there. The Commission found Google's steering fees and the length of the charging period went beyond what the DMA allows.
The timeline
Both decisions were adopted on 23 July 2026. Google has been ordered to bring the non-compliance to an end, so the practical changes roll out from that date. You can read the details in the Commission's non-compliance announcement and the fuller official press release.
Self-preferencing vs steering, in plain terms
| Mechanism | Where | What it blocked | Who it frees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-preferencing | Google Search | Fair ranking for third-party comparison and vertical sites | Aggregators, comparison sites, vertical specialists |
| Anti-steering | Google Play | Developers directing users to cheaper channels | App businesses, direct-to-consumer sellers |
Caption: The two DMA decisions target different chokepoints, but both hand demand back to non-Google channels. Source: European Commission, 23 July 2026.
Photo: Unsplash
What it means for growth and search teams
From my observation, three shifts matter most. First, comparison and vertical sites that lost visibility to Google's own boxes should start recovering organic real estate. If you run one, this is a window to reinvest in content depth and structured data. Second, direct-channel economics change: you can now legitimately point buyers to your own cheaper checkout. Third, discovery fragments, which mirrors the pattern I covered when the EU broke Google's grip on Android's AI assistant.
Concrete actions to take now
- Audit where your category currently loses to Google's own units, then rebuild for the ranking space that opens up.
- Add clear in-app and on-site messaging pointing users to your cheaper direct channels now that steering is permitted.
- Model the margin you reclaim by moving conversions off Play's fee structure.
- Strengthen your structured data so comparison eligibility improves, as I explained around product schema and free visibility.
The bigger picture
I think this is the moment off-Google conversion paths stop being a compliance risk and start being a strategy. The teams that map their direct-channel demand first will win the margin. Start with the audit this week.
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