The European Union fined Google $ 1.5 billion.

Google is once again under the magnifying glass of regulatory agencies, but this time with a heavy fine by the European Union for violating counter -laws in the field of digital advertising.

The European Commission has announced that it plans to pay a fine of € 1.5 billion or about $ 1.5 billion for violating the EU counter -law and “disrupting competition in the advertising technology industry”.

The decision was followed by a similar decree earlier in the year, in which a federal judge in the United States concluded that Google is monopoly on online advertising technology. Google displays ads in search results, but also plays a dominant and decisive role as a software provider for online advertisers and publishers seeking to sell advertising and ad display.

The main issue of the Commission is how to interact with Google Ads (Google Ads and DV 360) with its ad exchange software (ADX) and advertising servers (DFP) that appear to function preference. According to the commission, Google apparently helps ADX notified the value of competitors to win the auctions.

It has also been found that “Google ADS has avoided competing with other ad exchange platforms and has mainly recorded its suggestions on ADX, which has maintained ADX domination. The commission has given Google a 7 -day opportunity to announce how it intends to address these issues, otherwise it will face “appropriate corrective action”.

This may be just the same penalty, but may also include compulsory sales or all of Google’s advertising business. Lee-Anne Mulholland, the head of Google’s World Regulatory Affairs, said in a statement made to Engadget, protesting the decision:

The European Commission’s decision on our advertising services is wrong and we will protest it. This decision imposes an unjustified fine and considers changes to harm thousands of European businesses and makes it more difficult for them to make money. There is nothing anti -competitive in providing services to buyers and advertisers, and now alternatives to our services are more available than ever.

The $ 1.5 billion is a huge figure, but technically, it is not the most penalty that Google has paid for violating EU law. In year 2, the company was sentenced to $ 1.5 billion in paying the default Google apps on the phone on the default Google apps on the phones.

Although Google has been increasingly monitored for its business practices over the past decade, it has not yet faced serious structural measures for anti -competitive behaviors. For example, a US court in 2008 nominated Google as a monopoly on the online search, but the case judge recently ordered the company not to overcome the Chrome browser or stop its payments to Apple, paying Google as a search engine.

European regulators have traditionally been more pursued than their American counterparts, and the European Commission is reportedly investigating at least one other file related to Google’s digital advertising.

However, it is not yet clear whether there will be a punishment that can really have a significant impact on the company.