The EU Commission fines Google billions for violations of competition rules in the advertising business. (archive picture)
Keystone
The European Union has imposed a fine of 2.95 billion euros on the US internet giant Google. The Commission justified this on Friday with “abusive practices in the area of online advertising technology”.
Google immediately announced its intention to take action against the “unjustified” fine.
Brussels has been preparing a penalty in the so-called “Google Adtech” case for months. The EU accuses the company of abusing its dominant position in the advertising market. The investigation began in 2021.
The Commission has now called on Google to stop self-promotion in the advertising sector and to take measures to eliminate conflicts of interest. The company has 60 days to inform the Commission how it intends to do this.
Google reacted immediately: The responsible manager Lee-Anne Mulholland declared that the Commission’s decision was “wrong”. The company will “appeal against it”.