The European Commission has slapped Google with a massive €2.95 billion ($3.45 billion) antitrust fine for abusing its dominance in the online advertising technology industry. The EU competition watchdog claims Google has been unfairly favoring its own ad tech services, thereby distorting competition and violating EU antitrust rules.
The Commission's investigation, which began in June 2021, found that Google holds dominant positions in various parts of the ad tech ecosystem. These include ad buying tools like Google Ads and DV 360, the DoubleClick For Publishers (DFP) ad server, and the AdX advertising exchange. The EU Commission believes Google has been exploiting these positions to favor AdX, giving it an unfair advantage over competitors and allowing the company to charge higher fees. Specifically, the Commission found that Google was informing AdX in advance of the best bids from competitors, allowing it to win auctions. They also found that Google favored AdX in the way its ad buying tools placed bids on ad exchanges.
EU competition chief Teresa Ribera stated that Google's behavior is illegal under EU antitrust rules, harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers. The Commission has ordered Google to cease its "self-preferencing practices" and implement measures to resolve conflicts of interest within its ad tech supply chain. Google has 60 days to inform the Commission of how it intends to comply.
This isn't the first time the EU has penalized Google for antitrust violations. In 2018, the company was fined over €4 billion for abusing Android's dominant position, and in 2017, a €2.4 billion fine was imposed regarding the Google Shopping price comparison service.
Google is disputing the fine and plans to appeal. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's global head of regulatory affairs, stated that the decision is "wrong," imposing an unjustified fine and requiring changes that will hurt European businesses. Mulholland argues that there are many alternatives to Google's services and that providing services for ad buyers and sellers isn't anticompetitive.
The European Commission has signaled that it may require Google to divest part of its ad tech business to resolve the inherent conflicts of interest. This could involve selling off its ad server, DoubleClick, and its AdX advertising exchange. However, the Commission is open to hearing Google's proposals before making a final decision.
The decision has sparked reactions from both sides of the Atlantic. Former U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the fine, calling it "unfair" and threatening retaliatory tariffs against the EU. Digital rights and anti-monopoly campaigners, however, have voiced support for structural changes to prevent ongoing conflicts of interest.
