Quick overview

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The European Union ordered Alphabet’s Google to stop favoring its own advertising technology services. It fined the company nearly €3 billion ($3.5 billion), a move that could further exacerbate tensions with US President Donald Trump.

Google must stop its practices after the European Commission declared on Friday that it had abused its power by providing its own ad exchanges with a competitive edge over competitors. “Public institutions must take action to stop dominant players from abusing their power when markets fail,” said Teresa Ribera, the EU antitrust commissioner, in a statement.

A level playing field, where all competitors compete on an equal basis and citizens have a true right to choose, is what is meant by true freedom. Immediately, the business promised to file an appeal.

Google’s vice president for regulatory affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, stated that the action “imposes an unjustified fine and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money.”.

The €2.95 billion fine is the second-highest EU penalty imposed against Google for alleged abuses of dominance and is one of the harshest penalties ever imposed by Brussels. It comes after a €2.42 billion fine and a €4.125 billion Android penalty for destroying competitors in the shopping search market. Last year, a €1.49 billion AdSense fee was removed. The rulings significantly exceed fines imposed on Apple and Meta, bringing Google’s EU liabilities to just under €10 billion. along with Microsoft Corp. The company, which is based in Mountain View, California, says no.

It is anticipated that Google will earn $205 billion in digital ad revenue globally by 2025. The majority of that, $171.72 billion, is derived from Google’s worldwide search advertising division. Display advertisements account for $33 billion of the total. In addition to a trading exchange, Google offers ad-buying and ad-selling services for publishers and marketers.