EU fines Google record €2.95 billion

The EU Commission announced that an investigation into Google for violating EU competition rules in the advertising technology sector (adtech) has been completed. The statement stated that Google was determined to have violated the rules by providing favors to its competitors for its own online advertising technology services, and that the company was therefore fined 2.95 billion euros ($3.5 million). The statement also stated that the EU Commission had ordered Google to end its favoring practices and eliminate conflicts of interest in its ad technology supply chain, and that the company must officially notify the EU of the steps it will take in this regard within 60 days.

THE INVESTIGATION STARTED IN 2021 The EU, which launched an antitrust investigation into Google in 2021 due to advertisements, accused the company of violating competition rules in its digital advertising activities in 2023. Alleging that Google had abused its position to have its own services preferred in advertising markets and selection since 2014, and that this allowed the company to charge higher fees for the services it offered, the EU stated that these behaviors constituted a violation of EU rules prohibiting the abuse of a dominant position in the market.

The Commission has the authority to inspect companies operating in EU countries for any anti-competitive practices in their sectors. The Commission assesses whether there is an anti-competitive practice in these investigations. If any practices that harm competition are detected, the EU Commission puts an end to the practice and imposes heavy fines on the companies.

The EU has fined Google over 8 billion euros in the past as a result of various competition investigations.

FEAR OF TRUMP POSTPONED THE FINE There were reports that the fine in question was planned to be announced earlier, but it was blocked by EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on the grounds that it would harm EU-US trade relations.

The headline of the AFP report read: "EU Trade Minister postpones Google fine after Trump's threats." Trump had said he would take customs action over the EU Digital Copyright Law. The report continued: "An EU official who discussed internal negotiations, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that a political debate had erupted within the bloc's executive body after trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic postponed penalizing the US giant this week. The official said Sefcovic "pushed the red button" on the planned fine, which was submitted for approval on Monday.

The postponement of the sentence came after Trump threatened to target Europe over regulations aimed at reining in US tech giants.

STATEMENT FROM GOOGLE

Alphabet subsidiary Google said the commission's decision was "wrong" and that it would appeal.

THIRD PENALTY IN A WEEK With the penalty announced today, this is the third major fine given to Google this week.

In a case heard in the US, Google was fined nearly $425 million for continuing to collect information through its smartphone app even after people turned off their privacy settings.

On the same day, the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) fined Google 325 million euros for not complying with the rules regarding internet cookies.

Also this week, the Washington, DC District Court issued its ruling on the US Justice Department's request to force Google to sell Chrome.

The ruling reportedly stated that the company would not be forced to divest Chrome, and that the court would not include a conditional divestiture of the Android operating system in its final decision.