The European Commission has fined Google €2.95 billion for breaching antitrust rules by favouring its own advertising services. The regulator found that Google abused its dominant position by prioritising its ad exchange, AdX, within both publisher ad servers and ad-buying tools.
Google has 60 days to stop these self-preferencing practices and resolve conflicts of interest in the adtech supply chain.
“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,” said Teresa Ribera, the commission’s executive vice president.
A Google spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal it would appeal, claiming, “There’s nothing anticompetitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before.”
The fine, the EU’s second-largest antitrust penalty after a $5 billion Android-related fine in 2018, was delayed due to ongoing EU-U.S. trade talks. U.S. President Donald Trump criticised the ruling, warning on Truth Social that American tech companies face unfair penalties.
Last week, Trump hosted a televised dinner with Google executives, where they praised his AI policies.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Google won a legal reprieve as a judge rejected sweeping Justice Department demands to break up the company’s Chrome browser and Android OS, marking a contrast with the EU’s tougher stance.