The European Commission announced on Friday that Google had been abusing its dominant role in search advertising. It ordered the company to stop giving its services priority and warned that a structural remedy, such as selling part of its adtech business, might be the only fix.
EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said: “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. This seems necessary and proportionate to effectively stop the infringement.”
Trump went on Truth Social within hours. He called the EU’s move “very unfair” and claimed Europe was punishing “brilliant and unprecedented American Ingenuity”. He threatened a trade probe that could spark fresh tariffs on European goods.
This is one of the largest fines Google has faced, though it still falls short of the €4.12 billion hit from 2018 for using Android to squeeze out rivals. The company now has 60 days to tell Brussels how it intends to comply, or risk being forced into a carve-up.
Google said it will appeal, with its global head of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland blasting the ruling as “unjustified” and claiming “it requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money”.
The EU had been set to make the announcement on Monday, but trade chief Maroš Šefčovič pulled it at the last moment, reportedly to avoid muddying trade deal talks with Washington. Trump, meanwhile, has already threatened tariffs against countries that target US tech with special taxes or rules.
The cocaine nose jobs of Wall Street will be watching closely, since Big Tech is still considered more holy than Jesus by Washington. Only a day before the fine, the world was treated to a sicking image of the bosses of Silicon Valley’s favourite outfits fawning over Trump at a White House dinner.
For those who came in late, Friday’s fine stems from a 2021 probe into Google’s stranglehold on the advertising market. By 2023, Brussels had formally charged the company with abusing its position and warned it could only be resolved through a breakup.
Meanwhile in the US, Google dodged a legal hammering earlier this week when a federal judge ruled it did not need to sell Chrome or Android despite being found guilty of running an illegal monopoly. Instead, the judge ordered it to cough up more data and stop signing exclusive distribution deals.
