Google was fined roughly $3.5 billion on Friday for violating European Union competition laws by unfairly undercutting smaller rivals in the online advertising market, the second legal decision this week against the American tech giant for illegal business practices.
The European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-nation bloc, said Google breached antitrust laws by using its size and dominance to control the display advertising business.
This week, a federal judge in the United States ordered Google to hand over its search results and some data to rival companies in a landmark case brought by the Justice Department aimed at Google’s dominance in online search. The company avoided having to sell off its Chrome browser.
Google’s advertising business is also the subject of another case brought by the Justice Department that is expected to go to trial this month.
Google is best known for its search engine and other free services, but its multibillion-dollar business is underpinned by dominance of the online advertising market. The company controls nearly every step along the supply chain needed for businesses — from local retailers to multinational corporations — to promote their products to internet users.
Google sells advertising for its own websites and applications, but it also acts as an intermediary between business that want to place ads on other websites.
The European Commission said Google had abused its dominance to box out rival providers of advertising technology. The company, regulators said, has “inherent conflicts of interest along the adtech supply chain.”
“Today’s decision shows that Google abused its dominant position in adtech harming publishers, advertisers and consumers,” Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s top antitrust regulator, said in a statement.
The fine of 2.95 billion euros traces back to an investigation started in 2021. Google, which has 60 days to inform regulators about how it plans to comply with the ruling, said it would appeal the decision.
“There’s nothing anticompetitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before,” Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s global head of regulatory affairs, said in a statement.
Adam Satariano is a technology correspondent for The Times, based in London.
Jeanna Smialek is the Brussels bureau chief for The Times.
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