The Daily Star Ireland
The European Union has imposed a €2.95 billion antitrust fine on Google, sparking a sharp response from U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened a broader trade investigation into the EU. The penalty, targeting Google’s advertising technology business, marks the fourth such fine levied against the company in the past decade.
Trump Pushes Back on EU Penalty
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump criticized the EU decision as an attack on American innovation. “We cannot let this happen to brilliant and unprecedented American Ingenuity and, if it does, I will be forced to start a Section 301 proceeding to nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies,” he wrote. Section 301 of U.S. trade law gives Washington authority to investigate and respond to what it sees as discriminatory practices abroad.
Trump’s warning comes as he has repeatedly signaled he is prepared to retaliate against any EU actions that target American Big Tech firms, including measures affecting digital markets and online advertising.
Why Google Was Fined
The fine, announced by the European Commission, stemmed from complaints raised by the European Publishers Council. Regulators concluded that Google abused its dominance in digital advertising since 2014 by favoring its own ad services over those of rivals, harming competition and limiting opportunities for publishers.
The Commission ordered Google to end these “self-preferencing” practices and resolve inherent conflicts of interest within its ad tech ecosystem. The company now has 60 days to outline compliance steps. While the Commission has reiterated that structural remedies, such as divesting parts of Google’s services, remain an option, it said it will first evaluate Google’s proposed solutions.
“Google must now come forward with a serious remedy to address its conflicts of interest, and if it fails to do so, we will not hesitate to impose strong remedies,” EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said. She added that digital markets “must be grounded in trust and fairness,” warning that regulators cannot allow dominant players to distort the system.
Google Vows to Appeal
Google strongly rejected the ruling and confirmed it will challenge the decision in court. Lee-Anne Mulholland, the company’s Vice President and Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, said the order was unjustified and harmful to European businesses.
“The European Commission’s decision about our ad tech services is wrong and we will appeal,” Mulholland said. “It imposes an unjustified fine and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money. There’s nothing anticompetitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before.”
A Long History of EU Fines Against Google
This latest penalty adds to a long series of clashes between Brussels and Silicon Valley. Google was fined a record €4.3 billion in 2018 for antitrust violations related to Android, €2.42 billion in 2017 for favoring its own shopping service, and €1.49 billion in 2019 for abuses in online advertising.
Interestingly, reports last week suggested the fine would be relatively modest compared with past cases, signaling a possible shift in approach by Ribera compared to her predecessor, who favored imposing record-breaking penalties as a deterrent.
With Google set to appeal and Trump threatening trade retaliation, the clash highlights not only regulatory tensions between Europe and Big Tech but also the risk of escalating transatlantic trade disputes.
