Google hit with massive $3.5 billion fine over EU’s antitrust laws

The European Union fined Google €2.95 billion ($3.5 billion) for violating its competition rules, escalating its pressure on American tech giants.

The European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-nation bloc, accused Google of breaching its antitrust laws by using its size to dominate the display advertising business, to the detriment of competitors.

Google was ordered to end its “self-preferencing practices” and stop “conflicts of interest” along the advertising technology supply chain following an investigation which traces back to 2021, according to the AP News.

Unless Google comes up with a “viable plan” to solve the issues within 60 days, “the Commission will not hesitate to impose an appropriate remedy,” said Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s executive vice-president overseeing competition affairs.

“At this stage, it appears that the only way for Google to end its conflict of interest effectively is with a structural remedy, such as selling some part of its Adtech business,” Ribera added.

According to Ribera, Google’s practices likely allowed its advertisers to push their higher marketing costs onto European consumers through increased product prices. Additionally, it’s suspected that due to lower revenue for publishers, consumers received higher subscription prices and reduced quality.

US President Donald Trump, whose administration long argued that it’s up to the US to regulate the American tech companies, took it to X to express his outrage with the bloc, saying “My Administration will NOT allow these discriminatory actions to stand.”

undefinedVery 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.undefined - President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/ZIU7VXTgfi

undefined The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 5, 2025

Google, in turn, called the decision “wrong”, saying it would appeal.

“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.

“There’s nothing anticompetitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before,” Lee-Anne Mulholland added.

This became the fourth time when the EU fined Google for antitrust violations, and the US has brought two major antitrust cases against the company. A separate US case, scheduled to move to the penalty phase later this month, focuses on forcing Google to sell off its AdX exchange and DFP ad platform, which unite advertisers with online publishers.

Yet in a recent victory for the tech giant, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google won't have to sell its Chrome browser and can keep its Android operating system, as long as it shares data with rivals.

Earlier this week, Google was also issued a €325 million ($379 million) fine by French regulators for failing to comply with cookie rules. According to the French data protection agency, Google failed to obtain user consent before using cookies linked to personalized advertisements, as well as showing ads in its email service.