Trump threatens retaliation after EU hits Google with antitrust fine

US President Donald Trump has threatened retaliation after the European Commission fined Google €2.95 billion for abusing its dominant position in the advertising technology industry.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump called the fine "very unfair", adding that his "administration will not allow these discriminatory actions to stand."

Trump also wrote that he "will be forced to start a Section 301 proceeding to nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies."

Under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the United States may impose penalties on foreign countries whose actions are deemed “unjustifiable” or “unreasonable,” or that place a burden on US commerce.

"I will be speaking to the European Union," Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday.

The Commission said its investigation found that Google “abused its power” by favouring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competitors, online advertisers and publishers.

The investigation focused on Google's AdX exchange and DFP ad platform, tools that bring together advertisers, who want to market their products, with online publishers, who want to sell commercial space on their websites.

It’s the fourth time Brussels has sanctioned Google with a multibillion-euro fine in an antitrust case, in a wider battle with regulators that dates back to 2017.

European Publishers Council calls for even tougher measures

Google will have 60 days to come up with proposed remedies.

“At this stage, it appears that the only way for Google to end its conflict of interest effectively is with a structural remedy, such as selling some part of its Adtech business," said EU Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera.

Google vowed to appeal the decision it said was "wrong".

It comes amid renewed tensions between Brussels and Washington over trade, tariffs and technology regulation.

The Commission's move was triggered by a complaint from the European Publishers Council, which has called for even tougher measures against Google.

"A fine will not fix Google's abuse of its adtech," its executive director Angela Mills Wade said, seeking a breakup order.

Top EU officials have previously said that they were seeking a forced sale because past cases that ended with fines and requirements for Google to stop anti-competitive practices have not worked, allowing the company to continue its behaviour in a different form.

Cori Crider, a senior fellow at the Future of Technology Institute think tank, said, “Europe made an important stand for the rule of law today by pressing ahead with this first-step fine in the face of Trump and Big Tech’s bullying."

But “only a break-up will fix Google’s monopoly,” said Crider, who's also an honorary professor at UCL Laws. “If Europe’s enforcers flinch on a break-up in the end, Google will rightly chalk a fine up as a win.”

While the EU's fine is a huge sum, it's pocket change for Google, which earned €24 billion in revenue in the second quarter.

Google has already avoided a breakup earlier this week in the US, where it's under fire on a separate front after a US federal judge found it had an illegal monopoly in online search. On Tuesday, the judge ordered a shake-up of its search engine but rebuffed the government's attempt to force a sale of its Chrome browser.