The EU’s top antitrust enforcer signaled a decision on whether Google is violating the Digital Markets Act is imminent, without committing to a timeline.
What she said. “It will come,” Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera told Dow Jones Newswires, adding the cases are complex and the commission is committed to decisions based on evidence and fair procedure.
The backdrop. The European Commission launched its probe into Google’s search business in March 2024 under the Digital Markets Act. The commission gave itself a soft 12-month deadline to wrap up — it has already fined Meta and Apple, but Google’s case remains unresolved nearly two years in.
The pressure is mounting. Eighteen lobby and civil society groups wrote to Ribera this month demanding clear remedies and a fine large enough to make non-compliance unprofitable.
- The groups warned the commission’s credibility is on the line, noting Google controls over 90% of the EU search market.
- “Every day without a decision is a day that European businesses are systematically disadvantaged,” the letter said.
Why we care. A ruling against Google under the Digital Markets Act could force major changes to how it operates search in Europe — potentially reshaping how ads are served, ranked, and priced in one of the world’s largest markets. If remedies include structural changes to search or ad tech, it could affect campaign performance, targeting, and competition dynamics across the board. If you have European audiences, watch this closely — the outcome could ripple through Google’s global ad ecosystem.
Meanwhile, this week. Ribera is in California meeting Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, and Amazon’s Andy Jassy before heading to Washington, D.C., for talks with the acting head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division.
The big picture. Google isn’t the only one in the crosshairs. The commission has additional open probes into how Google powers AI Overviews and ranks news publishers, and is separately investigating Meta over restrictions on rival chatbots using WhatsApp’s business software.
Bottom line. The EU has been slow to act on Google, but pressure is clearly building. When the decision lands, it could set a significant precedent for how the Digital Markets Act is enforced.
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