KABUL: The European Union has fined Google €2.95 billion ($3.5 billion) for “violating competition laws” and prioritizing its own digital advertisements. This ruling has sparked a strong reaction from U.S. President Donald Trump. The European Commission, which is the executive body of the 27-member bloc and the main enforcer of antitrust laws, ordered Google to end its “self-serving practices” and take necessary steps to prevent “conflicts of interest” in its digital advertising. Just hours after the decision, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, stating: “Europe has penalized yet another large American company, Google, with a $3.5 billion ‘fine,’ effectively taking money that could have been invested in the U.S. for job creation.” He called the action “very unfair” and warned that if the fine is not revoked, retaliatory tariffs would be imposed on Europe. Trump characterized this fine as part of a broader trend against American companies, citing Apple’s 2016 case, where Brussels forced the company to repay €13 billion with interest to Ireland. He insisted, “They should get their money back, or I will initiate a process of imposing retaliatory tariffs.” Trump’s stance came just a day after he hosted Google CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin, along with other tech leaders, for dinner at the White House. This is the fourth time the European Commission has fined Google billions of euros over antitrust issues. The Commission has stated that its investigations show Google has abused its power to benefit its own ads at the expense of competitors and publishers.
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