EU slaps $3.45bn fine on Google for unfair ad practices

Google has received a 2.95 billion euros ($3.45 billion) fine from the European Union for favoring its own advertising services, which is the fourth time the tech giant has been subject to a fine in its decade-long battle with the bloc’s competition regulators.

After conducting an investigation into a complaint from the European Publishers Council, the European Commission accused Google of distorting competition in the 27-nation bloc, and the tech giant responded by resuming operations in response to Donald Trump’s threat of reprisal.

EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic objected to Teresa Ribera’s decision due to concerns about the potential impact on US promises to lower tariffs on European cars under a July trade agreement, so she delayed making the announcement.

The Commission claimed that Google has abused its position of authority in the market place since 2014 and has favored its own online display technology services over rivals and online publishers.

Google “abused its position as a market leader, causing harm to publishers, advertisers, and consumers.” According to EU antitrust regulations, this behavior is prohibited, according to Ribera on Friday.

Since 2021, regulators have been investigating Google for ad technology, and they have recommended that the company sell some of its ad services to ensure fair competition.

Google, a subsidiary of US tech company Alphabet, &nbsp, criticized the EU decision and declared it would file a lawsuit against it.

According to Lee-Anne Mulholland, the company’s global head of regulatory affairs, “changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money” is necessary.

There are more alternatives to our services than ever before, she continued, adding that there is nothing unfair about providing services to ad buyers and sellers.

Ribera urged Google to offer a “serious remedy” to resolve its conflicts of interest, noting that failing to do so would lead to “strong remedies.”

The company has 60 days to explain its intentions to the Commission regarding this order.

The giant received a third fine in a week. Even when users chose to set privacy settings, a US federal jury on Wednesday ordered Google to pay roughly $425 million for using the app to gather data from users.