Internet giant Google has been dealt a heavy blow by the European Union. The company was fined €2.95 billion for its anti-competitive practices in the advertising technology sector. The European Commission cited Google’s decision as harming rival companies, advertisers, and publishers by favoring its own advertising services. This fine, equivalent to approximately $3.45 billion, also drew criticism from US President Donald Trump.

The European Union ordered Google to pay compensation.

This penalty contrasted with Google’s ongoing legal proceedings in the US. As you may recall, Epic Games’ lawsuit against Google concluded that the company engaged in monopolistic practices.

Following this ruling, Justice Department lawyers considered splitting Google into specific services to restore competition in the search engine market. The Justice Department had stated for the “third time” that Chrome, in particular, needed to be divested to break up its monopoly in the online search market.

Companies like OpenAI’s Nick Turley, Yahoo, and the artificial intelligence startup Perplexity made bids to acquire Chrome. However, all these bids were unsuccessful. A US federal court ruled that Google was not required to sell Chrome or Android and that its search engine agreement with Apple would be preserved.

Google, in its statement, maintained that it had invested billions of dollars in Chrome and Android, arguing that these services were free, secure, and innovative. The company argued that separating these services would alter its business models, increase device costs, and weaken its competitiveness with Apple’s iPhone and App Store. The recent European fine against Google further demonstrates the complex and multifaceted nature of the company’s global legal proceedings.