Translated material
The European Union fined Google by almost three billion euros. This is one of the largest fines of the company in Europe
Donald Trump, in response to the decision of the European Commission, threatened to start an investigation under Article 301 of the 1974 Trade Law. This law gives the US President the right to unilaterally respond to the actions of other countries that are considered “unfair” in relation to American business. “Today, Europe“ hit ”on another great American company, Google, fining it by $ 3.5 billion, actually taking the money that would otherwise go to American investments and jobs,” Trump wrote.
The European Commission fined the American Alphabet, the Maternal company Google, by 2.95 billion euros for abuse of its dominant position in the advertising technology market.
Google, as explained in the commission, gave preference to his own services, advertisers and online publishers to the detriment of competitors, and thus deformed the online advertising market. The European Commission ruled that the company should stop this practice and stop giving preference to its own services.
Google promised to appeal to this decision. The vice-president of the company on regulatory issues Lee-Enn Malholland said that the decision of the European Commission "requires changes that will damage thousands of European companies, complicating them with the opportunity to earn money."
The decision of the European Commission, as Bloomberg notes , was made at a tense moment in the trade relations of the EU and the USA. Donald Trump repeatedly criticized the actions of the European Union in relation to the Bigtehs and threatened to hold Europe liable for the adoption of regulatory acts aimed at restraining American companies.
- In 2017, the European Commission already made a decision on a fine for abuse of the dominant position in the market. Then the commission came to the conclusion that Google in the search results put his own services in the first places, thus creating them an advantage over competitors. The amount of the fine amounted to 2.4 billion euros. At that time, he was a record for Google. Finally, the company lost this case in the Luxembourg court, which remained the last instance in September 2024.
- In 2018, Google received another fine of 4.3 billion euros for violation of antimonopoly legislation. The European Commission ruled that the company used illegal methods, forcing smartphones manufacturers with Android to preserve its services and applications.
- In 2023, the European Commission warned Google that the only way to solve the problem of abuse of its dominance would be to “alienate” part of the company's business.