EU Fines Google $3.5 Billion for AdTech Violations

This week, the European Commission announced a fine of €2.95 billion (about $3.5 billion) against Google.

The Commission found that Google violated European Union antitrust laws by favoring its own advertising services. They claimed that Google “abused” its “dominant position” by promoting its ad exchange, AdX, within its publisher ad server and ad-buying tools.

Moreover, the Commission has given Google 60 days to “stop its self-preferencing practices” and “implement measures to resolve its inherent conflicts of interest throughout the ad tech supply chain.”

“Google must propose a significant remedy to address its conflicts of interest, and if it does not comply, we will not hesitate to enforce stringent measures,” stated Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s executive vice president for a clean, just, and competitive transition. “Digital markets should serve the public and be based on trust and fairness. When markets falter, public institutions must act to prevent dominant players from misusing their power.”

In reaction, a Google spokesman informed The Wall Street Journal that the company intends to appeal the Commission’s ruling, asserting, “Offering services for ad buyers and sellers is not anticompetitive, and there are more alternatives to our products than ever before.”

The WSJ highlights that the announcement was delayed from its original date of September 1, reportedly due to concerns surrounding ongoing trade negotiations between the European Union and the United States.

This constitutes the EU’s second-largest antitrust fine to date, following a $5 billion penalty against Google in 2018. The decision has faced pushback not only from Google but also from U.S. President Donald Trump, who expressed his concerns via a Truth Social post about the “numerous other fines and taxes imposed on Google and other American tech companies” such as Apple.

“We cannot permit this to occur to remarkable and unprecedented American ingenuity; if it does, I will have no choice but to initiate a Section 301 proceeding to nullify the unjust penalties imposed on these taxpaying American companies,” Trump remarked.

The president hosted a televised dinner on Thursday, attended by tech executives including Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who commended Trump’s policies, particularly regarding AI.

In the meantime, Google may have scored an antitrust victory in the United States this week. Despite a federal judge’s earlier ruling that the company illegally maintained a monopoly in online search, the suggested remedies were significantly less severe than the Justice Department’s recommendations for Google to divest Chrome and potentially Android.