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Alphabet’s Google Faces EU Antitrust Fine Over Adtech Practices

By  |  August 31, 2025

Alphabet’s Google is expected to receive a modest antitrust fine from European regulators in the coming weeks over allegations of anti-competitive behavior in its adtech business, according to Reuters. The move comes after a four-year probe by the European Commission, which began following a complaint from the European Publishers Council and escalated into formal charges in 2023.

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    The Commission accuses Google of giving preference to its own advertising services at the expense of rivals. While past EU competition chiefs have levied multibillion-euro penalties, the incoming approach from the new antitrust chief Teresa Ribera signals a shift in enforcement priorities. Per Reuters, Ribera is more focused on ending harmful practices rather than imposing record-breaking fines, marking a departure from her predecessor Margrethe Vestager’s reliance on punitive measures.

    Google has previously pushed back on the charges. The company pointed to a 2023 blog post criticizing what it described as the Commission’s flawed interpretation of the online advertising market, arguing that both advertisers and publishers enjoy significant choice.

    Read more: Alphabet Faces Regulatory Uncertainty as DOJ Decision Nears

    The anticipated penalty will be far smaller than Google’s previous record fines, which include €4.3 billion in 2018 for leveraging its Android system to stifle competition, €2.42 billion in 2017 over abuses in comparison shopping, and €1.49 billion in 2019 tied to its AdSense platform. Still, the action underlines continuing regulatory pressure on Google, which in 2024 generated $264.6 billion in advertising revenue across services including Search, YouTube, Gmail, and Google Play, according to Reuters. Advertising accounted for more than three-quarters of the company’s total revenue.

    Despite speculation in recent years that Brussels might demand a structural breakup of Google’s adtech arm, Ribera is not expected to order divestitures of tools such as DoubleClick for Publishers or the AdX exchange. Instead, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that European regulators may step back from structural remedies, especially as a U.S. court is preparing a September trial to examine potential measures addressing Google’s ad dominance.

    Source: Reuters