Google's €890 Million EU Fine Revives an Ancient Question About Justice

The fine raises a question closer to home than technology policy: what happens when people or institutions hold an advantage and use it to arrange the field around themselves? The EU imposed a €890 million penalty, and the Commission said Google preferenced its search engine and app store in ways that unfairly harmed competition. Those facts point to a pressure regulators are charged with restraining: the temptation to turn size, access, or influence into an unfair edge.

Holding that tension honestly matters. Public authorities have a responsibility to protect fair competition, yet a monetary fine can assign a cost to conduct without proving motive, restoring harmed competitors, or making a market whole. A penalty may deter, but it cannot change the heart that preferred self over neighbor. The problem named in the case is not only corporate. It appears whenever we use a small advantage, a relationship, or a position to bend outcomes in our favor while calling it prudence.

Psalm 37:28 does not turn this regulatory action into a divine verdict. It does not identify Google as wicked or promise that every injured competitor is restored. It grounds confidence elsewhere: the Lord loves justice and keeps the godly safe. That leaves room for earthly accountability while refusing to make a fine our final hope. We can practice honesty where we have influence, steward advantages with care, and leave ultimate judgment to God.