Fine EUR 2.95 billion today (5.9.25) imposed the Commission on Google for abuse of dominant position in the advertising technology market. The company is accused of favoring its own advertising services at the expense of competitors, violating EU competition rules.
Specifically, the Commission’s decision was triggered by a complaint by the European Publisher Council and announced amid US President Donald Trump’s threats to commercial retaliation if the EU puts pressure on major technology companies.
This is the fourth significant fine imposed on Google by European competition authorities and comes after four years of research. The Commission is asking the company to stop “self -propulsion” practices and to submit corrective measures within 60 days. In the event of non -compliance, it may be required to sell parts of its advertising technology, according to Reuters.
The decision was to be announced initially on Monday (1.9.25), but was postponed due to the opposition by EU chief trade, Maros Shefkovic, who expressed concerns about the impact of potential US duties on European cars. The delay overthrew the original Competition Plan, Teresa Ribera.
The Commission argues that Google has favored its own technological projection services at the expense of competitors and online publishers, abusing its dominant market position from 2014 until today.
The company immediately pledged to appeal. Lee-Anne Mulholland, a Vice President of Regulatory Affairs on Google, said the move “imposes an unjustified fine and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European companies, making it more difficult for them to make money”.
EU punishment comes in a period of tension in trade relations between the EU and the US, with President Trump repeatedly mocking the Union’s efforts to limit the power of Silicon Valley’s technological giants. Although Google is still facing antitrust investigations worldwide, a US victory has recently noted when a federal judge has decided that the company’s search activity did not need to be dismantled, despite the charges of the Ministry of Justice.
However, Google Advertising Technology activities are still threatened in the US. The US Department of Justice is expected to submit proposed measures later on Friday, in view of the hearing on September 22 on these proposals. Earlier, the ministry had proposed to force Google to divest the AD Manager platform to face alleged anti -axes.
The EU warned Google in 2023 that it had abused its dominance in advertising technology to harm online publishers. At that time, the Brussels -based Commission said that Google had favored its own advertising exchange program for its competitors and had reinforced the company’s central role in the advertising technology chain.
Ribera’s predecessor, Margrette Vestager, had stated that only a “compulsory divestment” of part of Google’s activities could effectively deal with problems. During her ten -year tenure in the Commission, Margrethe Vestager had imposed a fines of more than € 8 billion on three different cases, one of which was annulled and one was reduced by the EU court.