European Commission Fines Google With USD 3.45 Billion Adtech Penalty

The European Commission has imposed a 2.95-billion-euro (USD 3.45 billion) fine on Alphabet’s Google for anti-competitive conduct in its adtech business. Regulators said Google abused its market position since 2014 by favouring its own ad exchange AdX and charging high fees to the detriment of rivals and publishers.

The order requires Google to end these practices, address conflicts of interest, and report compliance within 60 days. Failure to do so could lead to stronger remedies, including potential divestitures. Google has announced plans to appeal, arguing the decision is unjustified and harmful to European businesses. The case adds to three previous EU penalties against the firm and comes amid U.S.-EU tensions over the regulation of American tech companies. The European Publishers Council, whose complaint triggered the investigation, said fines alone would not resolve Google’s dominance in digital advertising.