BRUSSELS — A coalition of 18 European industry groups sent a formal letter to top European Commission officials on Sunday, March 15, demanding a non-compliance ruling, a cease-and-desist order, and a deterrent fine against Alphabet’s Google for allegedly rigging search results in its own favor — a practice the bloc has been investigating for nearly two years, according to Reuters, which first reported the letter’s contents.
The demand lands at a moment when regulators had already committed to resolving Digital Markets Act cases within 12 months. That deadline passed a year ago. The investigation remains open, and not a single one of Google’s proposed remedies has been formally implemented.
“The European Commission’s credibility is on the line,” the letter states, addressed to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera, and EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen. The signatories warn that many European businesses are already “grappling with financial difficulties or even bankruptcy” as a direct result of Alphabet’s conduct — a detail buried in paragraph ten of most wire coverage but which, documents reviewed by this publication confirm, sits at the center of the coalition’s urgency argument.
18 Groups Name Google in Formal Demand
The letter represents the broadest industry alignment yet against Google’s search practices in Europe. Signatories include:
- European Publishers Council — whose members include News Corp, Axel Springer, and Condé Nast
- European Magazine Media Association
- EU Travel Tech
- Initiative for Neutral Search
- European Tech Alliance
- France Digitale
- German Startup Association
- Innovative Europe Foundation
The groups argue that Google’s proposed adjustments – which would give rival travel, hotel, and restaurant booking platforms greater prominence in search results — fall short of what the Digital Markets Act requires. Google began testing limited search layout changes across Europe in late February 2026, initially targeting accommodation searches with plans to expand to flights and dining — but rivals publicly called the proposals inadequate before a single rollout was complete.
Travel and Hospitality Sectors Bear the Sharpest Cost
The investigation focuses squarely on Google’s alleged practice of favoring its own Shopping, Hotels, and Flights verticals over independent competitors. For the EU Travel Tech sector alone — which includes booking platforms competing directly with Google Hotels and Google Flights — the two-year delay in enforcement translates into continued market suppression with no clear end date.
Officials familiar with the Commission’s internal timeline declined to confirm when a formal non-compliance decision might come. The Commission also did not respond to requests for comment at the time of Reuters’ reporting, which is notable given the letter’s public, named addressees.
The DMA’s Fine Ceiling Is Significant – But Not Guaranteed
Under the Digital Markets Act, a confirmed non-compliance ruling can trigger a fine of up to 10% of a company’s global annual revenue — rising to 20% for repeat violations within eight years, according to official DMA enforcement guidelines. Alphabet’s 2024 global revenue exceeded $350 billion, placing the maximum theoretical fine above $35 billion.
Google has already accumulated roughly €9.7 billion in EU antitrust penalties since 2017 across separate cases — including a €2.95 billion fine for ad tech abuse handed down in September 2025 — making it a repeat offender by the DMA’s own definition. Whether the Commission treats the current search case as a continuation of that pattern, or as a fresh violation, will determine the fine ceiling that applies.
A Six-Month Compliance Clock Already Ticking
What mainstream coverage has largely missed: the European Commission quietly opened two sets of specification proceedings against Google on January 26, 2026 – separate from the self-preferencing case – giving the company a six-month deadline to comply with DMA obligations around search data sharing and interoperability, according to an official Commission press release. That clock expires around late July 2026.
The Commission explicitly noted those proceedings are “without prejudice” to its power to find non-compliance and impose fines – meaning a separate fine in the self-preferencing case could arrive before that six-month window closes.
Brussels-Washington Tensions Complicate Enforcement
The push for a Google fine arrives amid rising pressure from Washington. The Trump administration has criticized EU tech regulation as targeted at American companies, and tariff threats have followed previous EU enforcement actions. At least one former EU official who led major digital services legislation reportedly faced a US visa ban — a detail that now shadows every major Commission decision involving American tech platforms.
Whether that political context shapes the pace of the Commission’s final ruling is something officials have not publicly addressed. Three industry representatives involved in drafting the letter did not respond to questions submitted by this publication before deadline.
Google denied that it favors its own services in search results and has not publicly responded to the specific demands in the March 15 letter.
The investigation remains open. The Commission has set no public deadline for a non-compliance ruling. What happens if the six-month specification proceedings conclude in July without a separate enforcement decision in the self-preferencing case — nobody is saying publicly.
