"The decision by the European Commission follows a four-year long investigation triggered by a complaint from the European Publishers Council that subsequently led to charges in 2023 that Google allegedly favours its own advertising services over rivals. The modest fine will mark a shift in new EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera's approach to Big Tech violations from predecessor Margrethe Vestager's focus on hefty deterrent penalties. The sources said Ribera wants to focus on getting companies to end anti-competitive practices rather than punish them."
"Google referred to a 2023 blog post in which it criticised what it said was the Commission's flawed interpretation of the adtech sector and that both publishers and advertisers have enormous choice. The fine will likely not be on the scale of a record 4.3 billion euro penalty imposed on Google by the EU competition enforcer in 2018 for using its Android mobile operating system to quash rivals."
The European Commission will impose a modest antitrust fine on Google for alleged anti-competitive practices in its adtech business after a four-year investigation. The probe began with a complaint from the European Publishers Council and led to 2023 charges that Google favours its own advertising services over rivals. New EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera aims to secure the end of anti-competitive practices rather than prioritize hefty deterrent penalties used by her predecessor. The fine will be much smaller than past record penalties such as the 4.3 billion euro Android fine in 2018. Google said the Commission misinterpreted the adtech sector and noted $264.6 billion in 2024 advertising revenue. Ribera will not require Google to divest part of its adtech business.
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