Brussels fines Alphabet 430 million euros over Google Play steering restrictions

The European Commission has fined Alphabet EUR 430 million for preventing app developers on Google Play from steering users towards offers outside its app store, in breach of Article 5(4) of the Digital Markets Act. The non-compliance decision, adopted on 23 July 2026, was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 23 October 2026 under reference C/2026/5546 (Case DMA.100075). It orders the company to bring the infringement to an end within 60 calendar days of notification, failing which it faces periodic penalty payments.

The ruling applies Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector, which requires a gatekeeper to allow business users, free of charge, to communicate and promote offers to end users acquired through its core platform service and to conclude contracts with them, whether or not they use that service to do so. Google Play is the core platform service at issue, and the app developers distributing through it are its business users.

The Commission opened proceedings on 25 March 2024 by Decision C(2024) 2055, issued preliminary findings on 19 March 2025 and weighed Alphabet’s response of 9 May 2025 before adopting the decision, notified as C(2026)5346 final, of which only the English text is authentic. The decision also closes the 2024 proceedings.

Two sets of terms, one finding of non-compliance

The Commission examined the General Business Terms — chiefly the Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement and the Payments Policy — together with the External Offers Program, which Alphabet adopted with a view to complying with the regulation. Every developer using Google Play is bound by the general terms; those wishing to use external links must additionally opt into the programme, whose terms prevail in case of conflict.

The general terms bar developers from leading users to any payment method other than Google Play’s billing system, including through in-app listings, web view buttons, links, messaging, advertising or sign-up flows. A partial exception exists for consumption-only apps, but it forces developers to give up in-app purchases and forbids direct links. The External Offers Program, in turn, only permits link-outs to the developer’s own digital content, not to third-party offers or to apps downloadable outside Google Play.

The Commission also found that the mandatory “Google Linkout Prompt”, shown every time a user follows an external link, introduces unnecessary friction through its wording and frequency, and that banning additional URL parameters or pre-filled fields restricts developers’ right to communicate offers. It rejected the security justification, noting that Article 5(4) contains no explicit security exception and that the alleged risk remained general and abstract.

Fees that defeat free steering

Under the standard model, apps and in-app products sold through Google Play Billing carry a 30 % service fee on earnings above USD 1 million, reduced to 15 % for eligible developers below that threshold or for auto-renewing subscriptions.

The External Offers Program introduced two commission fees on external transactions:

• An Initial Acquisition Fee of 10 % for digital in-app content, or 5 % for auto-renewing subscriptions, applying for two years after a user’s first external transaction.
• An Ongoing Services Fee of 17 % for digital in-app content, or 7 % for auto-renewing subscriptions, with no time limit.

The Commission held that neither fee can be accepted as remuneration for matchmaking: the acquisition fee extends far beyond the initial acquisition and is too high to be commensurate with the service, while the ongoing fee remunerates user-acquisition services indefinitely and a second time. It added that transactions completed through web view are still charged under the standard model, so steering there is not free of charge either.

What Alphabet must change within 60 days

To comply with the cease-and-desist order, Alphabet must, in practice and including technically and contractually:

• Let developers steer users to any destination or channel of their choice, including their own or third-party websites and app stores, without limiting destination types or URL data.
• Let them steer to any type of offer, including digital content, services and apps supplied by third parties, alternative app stores and other apps.
• Let them conclude contracts after steering through any technology, including web view, and allow installation of apps or app stores.
• Make prompts and disclosure sheets neutral, non-deterring and based on tangible, verifiable data, going no further than necessary to inform users.
• Charge nothing for steering, and confine any initial-acquisition fee to the initial acquisition, commensurate with its value and net of other remuneration received.

The decision adds that Alphabet must not engage in conduct with an equivalent object or effect.

Fine and coercive penalties

The EUR 430 million fine was imposed under Article 30(1), point (a) of Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 and stays below the maximum of 10 % of Alphabet’s worldwide turnover. Periodic penalty payments may be imposed under Article 31(1), point (h) if the company fails to comply with the order.

For app developers across the European Economic Area, the decision reopens routes to third-party payment and distribution channels that the store’s terms had closed, and it curtails the commission model that sustains app-store revenue. For Alphabet, the 60-day deadline turns a contested fee structure into a compliance test with recurring financial consequences.

Source: Official Journal of the European Union, C/2026/5546, 23 October 2026, C series, p. 1 (official reference: C/2026/5546).