European Union plans to impose "modest" fines on Google's advertising business

Google (GOOGL. O), a unit of Alphabet, will face a modest antitrust fine from the European Union in the coming weeks over alleged anticompetitive behaviour in its advertising technology business, three people familiar with the matter said. The decision, made by the European Union Commission, stemmed from a complaint by the European Publishers' Council, which then launched a four-year investigation and formally charged Google in 2023 with favouring its own advertising services over rivals. The modest fine marks a shift in strategy by Teresa Ribera, the new European Union antitrust chief, in dealing with violations by big tech companies. Unlike her predecessor, Margrethe Vestager, who preferred to impose hefty punitive fines, Ribera wants to focus more on pushing companies to stop anticompetitive behaviour rather than simply punishing. The size of the fine is expected to be much smaller than the record 4.30 billion euro fine imposed on Google by the European Union's competition watchdog in 2018.