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The European Commission announced this week that it has fined Google € 2.42 billion (approximately $ 2.8 billion) for violating European Union antitrust rules by favoring its own advertising services. 

Historic Antitrust Ruling Targets Google’s Advertising Practices

Regulators concluded that Google “abused its dominant positions” by giving preference to its AdX ad exchange through both its publisher ad server and its ad-buying tools.

The fine represents the second-largest antitrust penalty in EU history, following a $5 billion ruling against Google in 2018.

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The Infringement

According to the September 4 Commission press release:

“Google is a US multinational technology company with advertising as the main source of revenue. In particular, Google: (i) sells advertising on its own websites and applications; and (ii) intermediates between advertisers that want to place their ads online and publishers (i.e., third-party websites and apps) that can supply that space.”

The statement also explained the role of adtech:

“Advertisers and publishers rely on the adtech industry's digital tools for the placement of real-time ads not linked to a search query, such as banner ads in websites of newspapers (‘display ads’). In particular, the adtech industry provides three digital tools: (i) publisher ad servers used by publishers to manage the advertising space on their websites and apps; (ii) programmatic ad buying tools for the open web used by advertisers to manage their automated advertising campaigns; and (iii) ad exchanges where demand and supply meet in real time, typically via auctions, to buy and sell display ads.”

The Commission ordered Google to end these self-preferencing practices within 60 days and implement measures to eliminate conflicts of interest along the adtech supply chain.

European Commission Leaders Speak Out

Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s executive vice president for clean, just, and competitive transition, said in a statement:

“Google must now come forward with a serious remedy to address its conflicts of interest, and if it fails to do so, we will not hesitate to impose strong remedies. Digital markets exist to serve people and must be grounded in trust and fairness. And when markets fail, public institutions must act to prevent dominant players from abusing their power.”

Google Pushes Back

Google strongly rejected the ruling. A company spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal: