Brussels Hits Google with €2.95 Billion Fine for Adtech Abuses

Key Takeaways

• Record Fine: Google ordered to pay €2.95 billion ($3.2 billion) for abusing dominance in the online adtech sector.
• Self-Preferencing Practices: Regulators found Google’s tools tipped the scales in favor of its own ad exchange, AdX.
• Structural Remedies on the Table: The Commission warned divestiture may be the only way to resolve conflicts of interest.
• Global Spotlight: The case mirrors concerns raised in the U.S., where a DOJ trial on remedies begins later this month.
• Legal Fallout: Publishers and advertisers can now pursue damages in EU courts with the Commission’s ruling as proof.

Deep Dive

Google’s grip on the pipes of online advertising has landed it in hot water once again. The European Commission has slapped the tech giant with a €2.95 billion ($3.2 billion) fine for tilting the adtech playing field in its own favor, an antitrust ruling that could reshape how digital ads are bought and sold across Europe.

Since at least 2014, regulators say Google used its dominance in publisher ad servers and programmatic buying tools to quietly stack the deck for its own ad exchange, AdX. DoubleClick for Publishers allegedly tipped off AdX about rival bids, letting it swoop in with winning offers. Meanwhile, Google Ads and DV360 largely ignored competing exchanges, steering advertisers back to AdX.

The result? AdX became the gatekeeper of digital display ads across the European Economic Area, strengthening Google’s pricing power and boxing out competitors.

What Brussels Wants

The Commission isn’t just handing down a massive fine, it’s demanding structural change. Google now has 60 days to present a plan to end self-preferencing and untangle conflicts of interest in its adtech stack. Regulators have signaled that piecemeal promises won’t cut it, hinting that only divestiture of parts of Google’s business may solve the problem.

The Commission’s action comes as Google is facing mounting regulatory heat across Europe. Just days earlier, France’s data protection watchdog, the CNIL, fined Google €325 million ($357 million) for cookie-related violations, alongside a €150 million ($165 million) sanction against fast-fashion giant Shein. The CNIL found that Google inserted ads into Gmail without consent and nudged users into accepting advertising cookies, repeat failures that affected more than 74 million French accounts. Taken together, these cases underscore how both EU-wide and national regulators are circling Google’s business practices, from advertising dominance to privacy compliance.

This isn’t happening just in Europe, though. The U.S. Department of Justice is preparing for a trial later this month on similar concerns, setting the stage for a rare moment of alignment between American and European regulators. For Google, it means the pressure is coming from both sides of the Atlantic.

Past infractions factored into the fine, but the real story is what comes next. Advertisers and publishers now have a clearer path to seek damages in national courts, using the Commission’s ruling as binding proof of Google’s abuse. And if Google’s remedies fall short, the Commission has made clear it won’t hesitate to go further.

Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said, “Today’s decision shows that Google abused its dominant position in adtech harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers. This behaviour is illegal under EU antitrust rules. 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. Digital markets exist to serve people and must be grounded in trust and fairness. And when markets fail, public institutions must act to prevent dominant players from abusing their power. True freedom means a level playing field, where everyone competes on equal terms and citizens have a genuine right to choose.”

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