The EU has imposed a huge €2.95 billion fine on Google for antitrust violations because it gave preference to its own advertising services, despite warnings from President Donald Trump not to target large technology companies in the US.

Google immediately promised to appeal the European Commission's decision, which accused the American company of violating competition in the 27 countries of the bloc.

"Google abused its dominant position in advertising technology, harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers. This behavior is illegal under EU antitrust rules," said European Commissioner for Competition Teresa Ribera.

The fine comes despite Trump's threats to go after Europe for regulations aimed at limiting American tech giants, and after days of hesitation on Europe's part about whether to go ahead with the sanction, AFP reported.

Earlier this week, it became clear that the European Commissioner for Trade had stopped the imposition of the fine, probably for fear of retaliatory measures by the US, which revealed differences within the bloc's executive team.

The EU is still waiting for the US to fulfill its promise to reduce tariffs on cars under the trade agreement signed in July.

Brussels investigated Google over its advertising technologies in 2021 and in 2023 recommended that the company sell part of its advertising services to ensure fair competition.

Google, a subsidiary of US tech giant Alphabet, said the Commission's decision was "wrong" and would appeal.

"The EU is imposing an unjustified fine and demanding changes that will harm thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to earn money. There is nothing anti-competitive about providing services to buyers and sellers of advertising, and the alternatives to our services are more numerous than ever," said Lee-Ann Mulholland, the company's global director of regulatory affairs.

This is the third fine imposed in a week on Google, owned by Alphabet.

On September 3, a federal jury in the US ordered Google to pay about $425 million for collecting information from the use of smartphone apps, even when users had selected privacy settings.

On the same day, the French data protection authority imposed a €325 million fine on the search engine for violating the law on internet cookies.

However, on September 2, the company scored a major victory when a US judge rejected the US government's request that Google sell its Chrome web browser as part of an antitrust case.

The landmark decision, which was made after it was found that Google had illegally maintained a monopoly in the field of online search through exclusive distribution agreements, nevertheless imposed strict requirements for restoring competition in this area. | BGNES