Alphabet’s Google has been hit with a massive €2.95 billion ($3.45 billion) fine by the European Union for anti-competitive practices in its advertising technology business, marking one of the bloc’s toughest actions yet against Big Tech.
The penalty, announced on Friday, is the fourth imposed on Google in its decade-long battle with EU competition regulators. It comes at a time of rising global trade tensions, with Washington warning of retaliation against Europe’s scrutiny of American tech giants.
The case was prompted by a complaint from the European Publishers Council, which accused Google of unfairly favouring its own display advertising services. According to the European Commission, Google gave its ad exchange AdX a dominant role in the online advertising supply chain, enabling the company to charge higher fees while squeezing out rivals and online publishers.
“Google must now come forward with a serious remedy to address its conflicts of interest, and if it fails to do so, we will not hesitate to impose strong remedies,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera warned in a statement.
The Commission said Google had abused its market power since 2014 and ordered the company to end self-preferencing practices immediately. Google has 60 days to outline its compliance plan and another 30 days to implement it. While regulators reiterated that divestiture of some services remains on the table, they signalled they would first assess Google’s proposed remedies.
The move has sparked political ripples beyond Brussels. Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who previously slapped tariffs on European goods, has threatened to strike back if the EU continues targeting American tech firms. The Commission had initially planned to issue the fine earlier this week but delayed the decision following concerns raised by EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic about possible U.S. tariffs on European cars.
Google, which has vowed to appeal the ruling, now faces mounting pressure on both sides of the Atlantic as regulators tighten oversight of dominant digital platforms.
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