Sawt Falasteen - EU hits Google with €2.95 bn fine despite Trump threats

Google immediately vowed to appeal the decision by the European Commission, which accused the US firm of distorting competition in the 27-nation bloc.

"Google abused its dominant position in adtech harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers. This behaviour is illegal under EU antitrust rules," EU competition chief Teresa Ribera said.

The fine comes despite threats by Trump to go after Europe for regulations seeking to rein in US tech giants -- and follows days of hesitation on the European side over moving ahead with the sanction.

Earlier this week it emerged that the EU's trade chief had hit pause on the fine seemingly for fear of US retaliation -- exposing divisions within the bloc's executive team.

The EU is still waiting for the United States to make good on a promise to lower tariffs on cars under a trade deal agreed in July.

Brussels had been probing Google over adtech since 2021 and in 2023 recommended the company sell part of its ad services to ensure fair competition.

Google, a subsidiary of US tech giant Alphabet, said the commission's decision was "wrong" and it would 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," said the firm's global head of regulatory affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland.

"There's nothing anticompetitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before."

Friday's announcement marked the third fine announced in a week against the Alphabet-owned Google.

A US federal jury on Wednesday ordered Google to pay about $425 million for gathering information from smartphone app use even when people opted for privacy settings.

The same day, France's data protection authority fined the search giant 325 million euros for failing to respect the law on internet cookies.

The group notched a major win however on Tuesday when a US judge rejected the American government's demand that Google sell its Chrome web browser as part of an antitrust case.

The landmark ruling, which came after Google was found to have illegally maintained monopolies in online search through exclusive distribution agreements, did however impose sweeping requirements to restore competition in the area.

R.AbuNasser--SF-PST