The European Commission has fined Google €2.95 billion (nearly $3.5 billion), ruling that the company violated EU antitrust laws by favoring its own advertising tools over its rivals. This decision marks the bloc’s fourth major antitrust penalty against the tech giant.
Regulators said that Google abused its dominance by giving preferential treatment to its ad exchange, AdX, within both its publisher ad server and its ad-buying tools. The Commission has ordered the company to end these practices within 60 days and adopt measures to address what it called “inherent conflicts of interest along the adtech supply chain.”
Google to Appeal and US Political Backlash
In response, Google said it would appeal, arguing that its services are competitive and that there are more alternatives available than ever before.
The decision drew sharp criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who publicly denounced the EU’s actions against American tech companies. On Truth Social, Trump wrote, “We cannot let this happen to brilliant and unprecedented American Ingenuity,” and warned that he could initiate a Section 301 proceeding to nullify what he called “unfair penalties.”
A Section 301 proceeding is a trade investigation tool under U.S. law that allows the President to take unilateral action, such as imposing tariffs, against a foreign country’s “unjustifiable” trade practices that harm U.S. commerce.
