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Google

Alphabet's search and cloud Arm; facing triple-stacked EU enforcement: DMA fine, search-data ruling, AI Act.

On 23 July, the European Commission fined Google €890m for Digital Markets Act breaches in Search and the Play Store. By 4 August, Google had filed no visible appeal.

Last refreshed: 24 September 2026 · Appears in 6 active topics

Key Question

Why is the Google DMA fine sitting on von der Leyen's desk?

Timeline for Google

#14 29 Sept

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Cybersecurity: Threats and Defences

#16 22 Sept

Mentioned in: Civo announces first UK edge data centre at Navigate London

European Tech Sovereignty

#15 17 Sept

Linked to one of the seven projects

Data Centres: Boom and Backlash: Chile data centres seek review waivers

#20 16 Sept

Mentioned in: Singapore buys its citizens AI access

AI: Jobs, Power & Money

#16 16 Sept

Mentioned in: Mistral puts its models into Firefox

European Tech Sovereignty

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Follow European Tech Sovereignty →Follow Media's AI Pivot →Follow Cybersecurity: Threats and Defences →Follow Data Centres: Boom and Backlash →Follow AI: Jobs, Power & Money →Follow UK Startups and Innovation →

Background

Google is Alphabet's search and cloud Arm, founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin and based in Mountain View, California. Its consumer platforms include Search, Android and the Play Store, while Google Cloud sells computing services to organisations.

Google also operates the Google Threat Intelligence Group, which tracks malicious groups and incorporates Mandiant. On 1 September, the TEAM renamed a payment-fraud actor targeting Brazil's Pix network, illustrating its attribution role. In Europe, Google's cloud position includes S3NS, its joint venture with Thales. In April 2026, S3NS secured a lower SEAL-2 slot in an EU sovereign-cloud framework.

Key Issues

EU platform rules

Google faces DMA enforcement

On 16 July, the European Commission ordered Google to open 11 Android features to rival AI providers for free and to share anonymised Search ranking data with competing search engines from January 2027. The order reaches Google's core distribution and search-data assets rather than a peripheral product.

On 23 July, the Commission imposed €460m for favouring Google's own services in Search and €430m for blocking cheaper Play Store deals. Google received 60 days to comply. The 23 July measures put Android, Search and Play at the centre of Google's EU contest.

Common Questions

Google faces DMA enforcement

What three EU enforcement actions is Google facing in summer 2026?

The DMA self-preferencing fine (€890 million) was issued on 23 July 2026. The EU AI Act's Article 101 GPAI fining power took effect on 2 August 2026, as scheduled. The binding search-data sharing order, due 27 July 2026, has not been confirmed published as of 4 August 2026.Source: ETS Update #7

What is the DMA requiring Google to do in 2026?

The European Commission issued preliminary compliance measures in April 2026 requiring Google to share anonymised search rankings, user queries, click data, and view metrics with rivals on FRAND terms. A binding decision is due 27 July 2026.Source: European Commission, DMA.100209

Why is the EU fine against Google being delayed?

Resolved. The European Commission issued the DMA self-preferencing fine against Google on 23 July 2026, at €890 million.Source: ETS Update #7

What is Google's water replenishment pledge?

Google committed $17 million in June 2026 to replenish 19 billion gallons of water per year across seven US states by 2030, more than double its 2024 consumption of 8.1 billion gallons. The pledge includes per-site reporting framed as a community-engagement blueprint.Source: Lowdown data-centres update 7

How much water does Google use in The Dalles, Oregon?

Google's campus at The Dalles draws roughly 550 million gallons a year, about 40% of the city's water supply. Residents face a projected 99% rise in water rates by 2036 under a $260 million system upgrade linked to Google's expansion.Source: Lowdown data-centres update 7

What is Google's GTIG and what did it find about Axios?

Google Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) is Google's nation-state threat intelligence unit, incorporating Mandiant. In May 2026, GTIG and Mandiant disclosed that North Korean actor UNC1069 planted a backdoor in the Axios npm package via maintainer phishing, affecting versions with 80–100 million weekly downloads.Source: Google GTIG / Mandiant

How much did Google pay for Wiz?

Google completed its acquisition of cloud security vendor Wiz for $32 billion in March 2026, the largest pure-cybersecurity deal of the POST-CrowdStrike era.Source: Google, SecurityWeek

Has Google been threatened by Iran over its AI work?

Yes. On 1 April 2026 the IRGC named Google among 18 US technology companies designated as military targets over alleged AI targeting support for strikes on Iran.Source: Iran Conflict Update #54

What is Google's Strategy Agent at IBC 2026?

Strategy Agent is an autonomous AI system co-developed by Google Cloud and Formula E to process race telemetry, video and audio in real time and deliver tailored predictions during live broadcasts. It was nominated in the Content Creation category of the IBC 2026 Innovation Awards.Source: IBC, Google Cloud

Is Google Cloud approved for EU sovereign cloud contracts?

Partially. Google's S3NS joint venture with Thales won a SEAL-2 slot in the EU's €180m institutional cloud framework in April 2026, but not SEAL-3, because Google Cloud infrastructure is subject to US CLOUD Act orders. European cloud-native rivals dispute the SEAL-2 award as inadequate.Source: European Commission / CISPE

What is Google's S3NS joint venture with Thales?

S3NS is a joint venture between Google Cloud and French defence group Thales that won a slot in the EU's €180m institutional sovereign cloud framework at SEAL-2 level. It cannot reach SEAL-3 because it runs on Google Cloud infrastructure subject to the US CLOUD Act.Source: ETS Update #3

Source Material

EU Digital Markets Act portal