EU Imposes $3.5 Billion Fine on Google for Anti-Competitive Advertising Practices

The European Commission has imposed a fine of €2.95 billion ($3.5 billion) on Google for abusing its dominance in the digital advertising technology market and favouring its own adtech services over those of competitors. The EU’s top antitrust regulator has mandated that Google cease its anti-competitive and “self-preferencing” practices while also requiring the company to implement measures to prevent future conflicts of interest in the adtech sector. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, expressed to BleepingComputer that the antitrust regulator’s decision is incorrect and that the company intends to appeal. She argued that the fine is unjustified and that the required changes could negatively impact thousands of European businesses by making it more difficult for them to generate revenue.

This ruling follows a preliminary finding by the Commission in June 2023, which indicated that Google’s practices in online advertising technology violated European Union antitrust rules. Google has previously faced fines from the European Commission for similar abuses of market dominance, including a €1.49 billion ($1.7 billion) fine in March 2019 for blocking rival advertising companies and a €2.42 billion ($2.72 billion) fine in July 2018 for stifling competition in the online search market. In June 2017, the EU’s competition authority levied a record €4.34 billion ($5.04 billion) fine against Google for illegal practices related to Android mobile devices. Additionally, on the same day, France’s National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) fined Google €325 million ($378 million) for displaying ads between Gmail users’ emails without consent, violating cookie regulations. 

Categories: Antitrust Violations, Digital Advertising, Regulatory Fines 

Tags: European Commission, Google, Fine, Antitrust, Adtech, Dominance, Self-preferencing, Appeal, Competition, Regulations