Google fined $3.5 billion by EU for anti-competitive adtech practices

Alphabet Inc.’s Google on Friday was fined nearly €3 billion ($3.5 billion) by the European Union for anti-competitive practices.

The EU also asked Google to stop favoring its own advertising technology services.

Google had abused its dominance by giving its own ad exchanges a competitive advantage over rivals and that it must bring the practices to an end, said the Brussels-based European Commission on Friday.

The move by the European Commission was triggered by a complaint from the European Publishers Council. It comes amid a threat by US President Donald Trump to retaliate against the European Union for any push against Big Tech.

"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 Commissioner Teresa Ribera said in a statement.

"Digital markets exist to serve people and must be grounded in trust and fairness. And when markets fail, public institutions must act to prevent dominant players from abusing their power," Ribera said.

“True freedom means a level playing field, where everyone competes on equal terms and citizens have a genuine right to choose,” she added.

Google has been told to inform within 60 days to the Commission how it plans to comply with its order.

"The European Commission's decision about our ad tech services is wrong and we will appeal. It imposes an unjustified fine and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money," Lee-Anne Mulholland, Vice President, Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, said in a statement.

"There's nothing anticompetitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before."

The Commission also reiterated its preliminary view that Google should divest part of its services but said it wants to first hear and assess Google's compliance efforts.

In 2023, the EU had warned Google that it had abused its dominance in advertising technology to harm online publishers.

Google had favored its own ad exchange program over its rivals and bolstered the company’s central role in the ad tech supply chain, the Commission had said.