Google hit with $3.5B EU fine for adtech ‘abuse’
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The European Commission has fined Google €2.95 billion (nearly $3.5 billion) for breaching EU antitrust rules. Regulators say Google abused its market dominance by giving unfair advantages to its ad exchange, AdX, through both its publisher ad server and ad-buying tools.
The Commission has given Google 60 days to end these “self-preferencing practices” and implement safeguards to resolve conflicts of interest across the adtech supply chain.
“Google must now come forward with a serious remedy,” said Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s executive vice president. “Digital markets must be grounded in trust and fairness, and we will act when dominant players abuse their power.”
Google has confirmed it will appeal, telling The Wall Street Journal that its services remain competitive and alternatives exist.
This fine marks the EU’s second-largest antitrust penalty after the $5 billion sanction against Google in 2018. The move has also drawn criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who called it an attack on American tech companies and threatened to launch a Section 301 trade investigation.
Meanwhile, Google scored a partial legal win in the U.S., where a federal judge ruled it acted illegally to maintain a search monopoly but stopped short of ordering structural remedies such as selling Chrome or Android.
EU Slaps Google With $3.5 Billion Fine Over Adtech Abuses
The Commission has given Google 60 days to end these “self-preferencing practices” and implement safeguards to resolve conflicts of interest across the adtech supply chain.
