Washington DC [US], September 6 : US President Donald Trump on Friday (US local time) sharply criticised the European Union (EU) for its whopping USD 3.5 billion fine on American tech giant Google, calling it unfair and saying his administration would not allow the 'discriminatory action' to stand.
The European Commission (EC) announced on Friday a fine on Google for anti-competitive practices in the online advertising technology (adtech) sector.
According to the EC, this breaches the EU anti-trust rules through distorting competition in the adtech industry by favouring its own online display of advertising tech services.
In a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, the US President said that the amount of the fine would have gone towards American investments and jobs.
Calling it highly unfair, Trump said that this comes over and above several other fines and taxes that have been issued against Google and several other American tech companies.
Threatening to start a 'Section 301' proceeding so as to nullify the penalties on American companies, Trump also highlighted that Google has paid USD 13 billion in the past in "false claims and charges" and urged the EU to immediately stop this practice.
He wrote, "Europe today "hit" another great American company, Google, with a $3.5 Billion Dollar fine, effectively taking money that would otherwise go to American Investments and Jobs. This is on top of the many other Fines and Taxes that have been issued against Google and other American Tech Companies, in particular. Very unfair, and the American Taxpayer will not stand for it! As I have said before, my Administration will NOT allow these discriminatory actions to stand. Apple, as an example, was forced to pay $17 Billion Dollars in a Fine that, in my opinion, should not have been charged -- They should get their money back! We cannot let this happen to brilliant and unprecedented American Ingenuity and, if it does, I will be forced to start a Section 301 proceeding to nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115153232183118149
"In addition to my previously posted TRUTH concerning Google, please let this Statement serve to represent that Google has also paid, in the past, $13 Billion Dollars in false claims and charges for a total of $16.5 Billion Dollars. How crazy is that? The European Union must stop this practice against American Companies, IMMEDIATELY!" the US President wrote.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115153378284802465
The multi-billion dollar fine by the 27-nation bloc has ordered Google to inform the European Commission within 60 days of how it intends to end the self-preferencing practices and implement measures to cease its "inherent conflicts of interest".
"The European Commission has fined Google EUR2.95 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in the advertising technology industry ('adtech'). It did so by favouring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competing providers of advertising technology services, advertisers and online publishers. The Commission has ordered Google (i) to bring these self-preferencing practices to an end; and (ii) to implement measures to cease its inherent conflicts of interest along the adtech supply chain. Google has now 60 days to inform the Commission about how it intends to do so", the statement said.
The development comes after, in June 2021, the EC had opened formal proceedings into the possible anticompetitive conduct by Google in the online advertising technology sector. In June 2023, the Commission sent Google a Statement of Objections, to which the company responded in December 2023, as noted by the EC.
European Commission, in its statement, highlighted that while market dominance is, as such, not illegal under EU antitrust rules, dominant companies have a "special responsibility not to abuse their powerful market position by restricting competition, either in the market where they are dominant or in separate markets".
Google, which is a subsidiary of US tech giant Alphabet, has criticised the EU decision and said it would challenge it in court, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Al Jazeera, citing Lee-Anne Mulholland, the firm's global head of regulatory affairs, said it required "changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money... There's nothing anticompetitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before," she added.