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EU Delays Google Adtech Fine Amid Trade Talks with United States

AdTech

Business Honor
03 September, 2025

EU delays Google adtech fine amid U.S. trade talks, sparking concerns over regulatory independence.

EU antitrust officials have postponed imposing a fine on Google's adtech business, opting instead to wait for developments in an ongoing trade talks standoff between the EU and the United States. The case arose out of a four-year inquiry into claims that Google favored its own advertising services over rival platforms at the expense of competition in the online ad market. The investigation began following a complaint from the European Publishers Council, which expressed concerns about Google's dominance in various layers of the adtech supply chain.

The fine, expected to be small in magnitude, was to be unveiled earlier this week. Google had been told that EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera would make the ruling on Monday, but the announcement was surprisingly postponed without comment. Three sources said the delay was driven by continuing trade talks, specifically negotiations on decreasing U.S. tariffs on European cars—from 27.5% to 15%.

Germany's Monopolies Commission condemned the delay, cautioning that enforcement of competition must not be subject to geopolitical pressures. "The protection of competition should not be a tool used by the Trump administration to further its own agenda," Commissioner Tomaso Duso said.

The connection between trade negotiations and regulatory action has sparked concerns about the EU's commitment to holding Big Tech responsible in the adtech sector, even though the European Commission insists that the Google investigation is still ongoing. As authorities intensify their investigation into the company's dominance in the $600+ billion adtech market, Google, which has been silent on the delay, is still the subject of multiple investigations into its advertising business in the US and the EU.