Google fined $3.5 billion by EU, but will it lead to breakup of the advertising monopoly of tech giant?

The European Commission has fined Google €2.95 billion (around $3.5 billion) for violating EU antitrust rules in the advertising technology (adtech) sector, in the fourth major penalty of the tech giant in recent years. What is different this time? Will this lead to more regulatory pressure on the Big Tech giant?

The EU ruling: what happened?

In the ruling on Friday (Sep 5), Google was found to have abused its dominance since 2014 by favouring its own ad exchange, known as 'AdX', and ad-buying practices called “self-preferencing” that disadvantaged competitors, advertisers, and publishers. It asked Google to submit a compliance plan within 60 days. If the plan is found inadequate, the European Commission could impose 'structural remedies', such as divesting parts of its adtech business.

Google has vowed to appeal, calling the decision “wrong” and warning that the required changes could harm European businesses.

EU is leading the way in antitrust actions against Google

This latest antitrust fine is part of a series of penalties imposed on Google by the European Union. It was fined €2.42 billion in 2017 for favouring its own price comparison service. In 2018, the EU fined Google €4.34 billion over Android-related abuses. This fine remains the largest penalty on Google to date. In 2019, the EU fined Google €1.49 billion for restrictive advertising contract clauses, but this was annulled by the General Court in 2024 following Google’s appeal.

Overall, EU antitrust fines on Google add up to around €8.7 billion.

How Google faces antitrust fines in the US, but Trump favours it

Antitrust scrutiny of Google is also intensifying in the United States, its home country. In April 2025, a federal judge ruled that Google holds illegal monopolies in online advertising markets, specifically in publisher ad servers and ad exchanges. Remedy hearings are scheduled.

Regarding search dominance, US courts have also found Google monopolistic and are proceeding with remedies discussions.

Google’s EU fine, while substantial, is modest compared to its global advertising revenue, which was approximately $264.6 billion in 2024, and nearly 75 per cent of its total income. US President Donald Trump criticised the fine as “unfair” and “discriminatory,” threatening a Section 301 trade investigation that could lead to new US tariffs on European goods.

Clamour for Google breakup is growing

Critics argue that fines alone are insufficient to curb Google’s entrenched dominance, especially in the €120 billion European ad tech market. They call for a breakup of Google’s business units to restore competition.

The latest EU fine signals a significant shift in antitrust enforcement, moving beyond monetary penalties and towards the possibility of ‘structural remedies’. This could involve forced divestment of Google subsidiary businesses to dismantle its monopoly.

How Google dominates the entire digital advertising supply chain

Google is the most dominant player in the adtech ecosystem, spanning ad exchanges, ad servers, and demand-side platforms. This has led to allegations of ‘self-preferencing’, where Google favours its own services, increasing costs for advertisers and limiting options for publishers.

The EU ruling targets this vertical integration directly.

Google breakup next? How will it help advertisers?

If structural remedies are enforced, parts of Google’s adtech infrastructure could be broken up in the EU, potentially increasing competition and innovation.

This EU ruling aligns with a global trend towards restructuring Big Tech business models to combat monopolies.

But is breaking up Google’s adtech business a good idea? What could competition mean for advertisers? For advertisers and publishers, greater competition could lead to fairer prices, improved transparency, and better tools to monetise content, ultimately benefiting consumers through increased innovation and choice