Google headquarters building in Europe, as EU regulators impose a record €2.95 billion fine over alleged ad dominance.
The European Union has again sued Google, issuing the tech giant a record-breaking €2.95 billion ($3.5 billion) fine for abusing its market dominance in online ads. The European Commission, the bloc's top antitrust enforcer, held that Google provided unfair preferences for its own ad offerings, pushing competitors aside and skewing level playing field competition.
This is Google's fourth antitrust fine in Europe, but a departure from previous warnings in that the Commission has refrained from its most extreme threat mandating the breakup of Google's ad business.
The ruling comes after an inquiry that began in 2021 and focused on whether Google was unfairly skewing the playing field in its direction in the online display advertising business a market worth billions.
At times, Brussels demanded only breaking up pieces of Google's ad empire would really resolve concerns about competition. But in a turnaround, the Commission chose heavy fines and cease-and-desist orders to stop "self-preferencing" instead.
The timing is significant. The decision comes as tensions in trade and technology between the EU and Washington are on the rise, with the Trump administration attacking Europe's assertive regulation of American firms.
Not surprisingly, Google is pushing back. The company denounced the ruling as "wrong" and said it would pursue an appeal of the judgment.
"The fine is unwarranted and the changes required will harm thousands of European businesses by making it more difficult for them to make revenue," Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's worldwide regulatory affairs head, said.
Google maintains the ad-tech market is competitive, citing multiple options that exist for publishers and advertisers.
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Although the penalty is large, it's short of the doomsday scenario of a forced divestment. Nevertheless, the decision serves to highlight Europe's insistence on keeping Big Tech under control, particularly in profitable areas such as digital advertising.
