Law & Regulation

Google Has 60 Days to Let You Bill Outside Its Store

The EU fined Google 890 million euros under the Digital Markets Act on July 23. The order to let developers bill outside Google Play is what touches your margins.

Law & RegulationBy Servola Tech Desk2026-07-233 min read

AI-assisted, edited by humans. | Editor-in-Chief: Leon Soliman | Editorial standards

Google Has 60 Days to Let You Bill Outside Its Store

Key takeaways

The European Commission fined Google 890 million euros on July 23, but the part that touches your margins is the order to let app makers steer buyers and bill them outside Google Play within 60 days.
There were two decisions, not one: 460 million euros for ranking Google's own shopping, hotel and flight results above rivals, and 430 million euros for blocking developers from pointing customers to cheaper channels.
The fine is small next to Alphabet's 119.8 billion dollar quarter; the leverage is the cease-and-desist order plus periodic penalties of up to 5 percent of worldwide turnover if Google stalls.
If you sell through Google Play or depend on Search visibility, the 60-day clock is a planning event, not a headline - map where Google's cut and its ranking sit in your funnel this week.

Brussels issued two bills, not one

On July 23 the European Commission handed Google two separate decisions under the Digital Markets Act and a combined 890 million euro penalty. It is the largest total the DMA has produced against a single company, past the 500 million euros levied on Apple and the 200 million on Meta in 2025.

The split matters more than the total. One decision, worth 460 million euros, targets how Google ranks its own services in Search. The other, worth 430 million euros, targets how Google fenced app developers inside its Play billing. Owners who read only the headline number will miss the decision that actually reaches into their pricing.

The 430 million part is the one that moves your costs

The anti-steering decision forces Google to let developers tell customers about cheaper offers and conclude contracts outside Google Play, free of charge. For any business that has been routing purchases through Play and surrendering a cut of 15 to 30 percent, that is a direct margin question, not a compliance footnote. A Berlin subscription app or a Lisbon marketplace can, once the remedy lands, invite buyers to pay on the web at a lower price.

Google was ordered to stop the practice, not just pay for it. That is the difference between a fine you absorb and a rule that changes the unit economics of selling software in Europe.

The search order restores a fairer shelf

The 460 million euro decision covers self-preferencing: Google gave its own shopping, hotel, flight and transport results more prominent placement than competing services. The Commission now requires Google to treat third-party services fairly and without discrimination in how results are displayed.

If you run a comparison site, a travel service or a vertical marketplace that competes with a Google surface, this is the ruling that decides whether your listing gets a fair position or sits below Google's own box. The behavioral fix, not the cheque, is what could move your traffic.

Why the fine is the least important number

890 million euros barely registers against Alphabet's 119.8 billion dollar quarter. The teeth are elsewhere. Google has 60 days to comply, and if it does not, the Commission can impose periodic penalty payments of up to 5 percent of Google's average daily worldwide turnover until it does. That is the mechanism that turns a survivable fine into an unsurvivable one.

Google says it already made substantial progress on search presentation and good progress on steering terms during dialogue with Brussels. Those changes will now be measured against a binding order rather than a negotiation, which is the point at which promises become obligations.

What to do inside the 60-day window

Treat the clock as a planning trigger. Map exactly where Google's take rate and ranking sit in your funnel, model what a lower off-Play price or a fairer search position would do to acquisition cost, and have the alternative checkout ready rather than scrambling when the remedy goes live. The upside accrues to operators who are prepared on day one, not to those still reading the press release.

One caution: this lands as Washington threatens fresh tariffs over EU tech enforcement, and political friction can slow or dilute how remedies are policed. Build the option, but do not rebuild your economics on a change that is not yet live.

Frequently asked questions

Does the 890 million euro fine change anything for my business directly?

The fine itself does not; the orders attached to it do. The anti-steering decision means you should be able to point customers to cheaper channels outside Google Play, and the self-preferencing decision means competing services should get fairer placement in Search. Those remedies are where your costs and traffic move, not the penalty.

When can app developers actually start steering customers off Google Play?

Google has 60 days from the July 23 decision to comply. Some changes may appear sooner because Google says it already made progress during talks, but the enforceable deadline is the 60-day window, backed by periodic penalties of up to 5 percent of worldwide turnover if Google misses it.

Does this apply in the United Kingdom?

No. The Digital Markets Act is EU law, so these decisions cover the EU market. UK businesses fall under the separate Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act, where the Competition and Markets Authority is pursuing comparable conduct against Google, so a parallel shift is plausible but not automatic.

The number that made the headlines is the number that matters least; the operators who win this are the ones treating a 60-day compliance clock as a pricing decision.

Digital Markets ActGoogleEuropean CommissionGoogle Playanti-steeringself-preferencingapp developers

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← All articles

Google Has 60 Days to Let You Bill Outside Its Store

Brussels issued two bills, not one

The 430 million part is the one that moves your costs

The search order restores a fairer shelf

Why the fine is the least important number

What to do inside the 60-day window

Frequently asked questions

Vet a paid partner, lose the EU hosting shield

The EU Says Addictive Design Can Cost 6% of Revenue

The EA Buyout Now Hinges on Brussels

The Operator Brief