Google proposes adtech changes to avoid breakup after EU fine

Google on Friday announced changes to its advertising services to avert the risk of a breakup, two months after Brussels hit the US giant with a massive fine.

The European Commission slapped a 2.95-billion-euro ($3.43 billion) antitrust fine on Google for favouring its own services in September, giving the company 60 days to resolve the issues raised.

The penalty drew an angry rebuke from US President Donald Trump, who threatened fresh tariffs on the EU if it was confirmed. Google has said it will appeal the fine.

"Our proposal fully addresses the decision without a disruptive break-up that would harm the thousands of European publishers and advertisers who use Google tools to grow their business," a Google spokesperson said.

Despite agreeing to the adtech changes, Google said it still disagreed with the EU decision.

Brussels will now assess the commitments -- which come as the bloc treads a line between its determination to enforce its tech rules and its wariness of further provoking Trump.

The EU has set its sights on Google.

Only a day before Google's announcement, the commission launched a new probe into the US company under its digital competition rules over suspicions it is unfairly pushing down certain news outlets in search rankings.

Google also faces scrutiny over its advertising services in the United States.

A US federal judge earlier this year decided against Google over its adtech practices. Google is also seeking to avoid a forced sale in that case in Virginia, and closing arguments are expected to take place on Monday.

The judge is set to make a decision in the following weeks or months.

Immediate changes

When it announced the September fine, the commission said Google had unfairly used its dominant position in online advertising to favour its own services.

The online giant not only sells advertising on its own websites and apps, but also acts as an intermediary for firms wanting to place ads elsewhere to appear on mobile and computer screens -- which Brussels says made it harder for rivals to compete.

Google on Friday said its plan included immediate product changes such as giving publishers the option to set varying minimum prices for different bidders when using Google Ad Manager.

And to address the EU's accusations of conflict of interest, Google said it would increase the interoperability of its tools for publishers and advisers.

The European Commission confirmed Google had sent its plan.

"We will now analyse Google's proposed measures to assess whether they effectively bring the self-preferencing practices to an end and address the situation of inherent conflicts of interest," a commission spokesperson said.

Brussels has slapped multiple fines on Google in recent years.

It fined the giant 4.1 billion euros in 2018 for abusing the market dominance of its Android operating system, and in 2017 slapped a 2.4-billion-euro fine for anti-competitive practices in the price comparison market.

The EU also accused Google in March of treating its own services more favourably compared to rivals as part of a digital competition probe launched last year.