The European Union delivered a thunderous strike against Silicon Valley on Friday, slapping Google with a $3.5 billion fine for abusing its dominance in advertising technology—echoing the same conduct at the center of the U.S. Justice Department’s recent monopoly case.
The penalty, equal to €2.95 billion, is one of the largest antitrust fines in the bloc’s history. Regulators said Google manipulated the system to give its own AdX exchange—the platform that matches advertisers with publishers selling ad space—an unlawful edge over rivals.
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The European Commission gave Google two months to propose a credible fix. The tech giant must “cease its inherent conflicts of interest along the adtech supply chain” or face even more punishing remedies, officials warned.
“Today’s decision shows that Google abused its dominant position in adtech, harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers,” said Teresa Ribera, the EU’s executive vice-president for clean, just, and competitive transition. “This behavior is illegal under EU antitrust rules. Google must now come forward with a serious remedy … and if it fails, we will not hesitate to impose strong remedies.”
