The European Commission has imposed a fine of €2.95 billion on Google for breaching EU competition rules.
The EU says that the tech giant distorts competition in the advertising technology industry “by favouring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competing providers”.
The European Commission has ordered Google to end what the EU calls “self-preferencing practices” and for the company to “cease its inherent conflicts of interest along the adtech supply chain”.
Google has 60 days to comply.
Google says it will appeal what it believes to be an “unjustified” EU fine.
The European Commission says advertising is Google’s main source of revenue.
The company is involved both in featuring adverts on its search platform and other sites, but is also a big player in the advertising publishing business.
According to the EU, Google has “abused” its dominant position including by favouring its own advertising platform over rivals.
The company has being doing so since a least 2014, the European Commission claims.
That long length of time, covering more than a decade, as well as the “gravity” of the infringement of EU law, led to the calculation of the multi-billion Euro fine.
Google’s Vice President, Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland says the company will launch an appeal.
“The European Commission’s decision about our ad tech services is wrong and we will 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.
There’s nothing anticompetitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before.”
The European Commission has fined Google several times in the past. On some occasions the tech firm has successfully fought back in the courts.
The European Commission says, in this case, its investigation into “an abuse of dominance by Google” is “largely similar” to one being conducted by the US Department of Justice.