EU Slaps Google With Record $1.7 Billion Fine Over Search Ad Monopoly

The European Commission fines Google €1.49 billion for using restrictive AdSense contracts to block rivals and cement its dominance in the search ad brokering market between 2006 and 2016.

20 Mar 2019 • 1 min read

The European Commission fines Google €1.49 billion ($1.7 billion) for abusing its dominant position in the search ad brokering market. EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager announces that Google uses its AdSense platform, which holds well above a 70% market share in Europe since 2006, to illegally prevent websites from using rival advertising brokers.

Investigators find three types of anti-competitive restrictions in Google's contracts with major partner websites. These include exclusivity provisions that block partners from sourcing ads from competitors, premium placement rules that force websites to reserve the most visible and profitable page space for Google, and strict controls that require Google's written approval before partners change the size, color, or font of rival ads.

This illegal behavior lasts from 2006 to 2016 and intentionally keeps rivals out of the market. Vestager states there is no reason for Google to include these restrictive clauses except to eliminate competition, prevent rival innovation, and cement its monopoly in the European search advertising space.

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