Brussels [Belgium]: Google has announced a fresh set of changes to its advertising operations, just a day after the European Commission launched another digital competition investigation into the tech giant, France 24 reported.
The announcement comes two months after the EU hit Google with a €2.95-billion antitrust penalty, accusing the company of giving preferential treatment to its own advertising tools. Google was given 60 days to address the violations highlighted by regulators.
A Google spokesperson said the company’s newly submitted plan “fully responds to the Commission’s decision” while avoiding a forced structural separation that, according to the company, could negatively impact thousands of European publishers and advertisers that depend on Google’s platforms. Despite agreeing to implement changes, Google reiterated that it disagrees with the ruling and will appeal the fine.
The September penalty had also sparked political friction, with US President Donald Trump warning the EU of potential new tariffs if Google’s penalty was upheld. EU investigators maintain that Google leveraged its dominant position in online ads to tilt the playing field in its own favour, limiting fair competition.
Under the newly announced reforms, Google will roll out immediate product updates. Among the measures is a new feature allowing publishers on Google Ad Manager to set different minimum prices for various bidders. The company also pledged to improve interoperability between Google’s tools and third-party platforms to reduce concerns about conflicts of interest.
The European Commission confirmed receiving Google’s commitments. “We will carefully examine the proposed remedies to determine whether they fully end the self-preferencing practices and address the underlying conflict-of-interest issues,” an EU spokesperson said.
Brussels is now walking a tightrope—enforcing strict digital competition rules while trying to avoid worsening tensions with Washington.
Meanwhile, Google is facing mounting legal pressure in the United States as well. A federal judge recently ruled against the company in a high-profile ad-tech case, with Google battling to prevent a potential breakup of its advertising business.
Closing arguments in that case are scheduled for Monday, with a verdict expected in the coming weeks or months.
This latest dispute adds to a decade-long series of clashes between Google and EU regulators.
The bloc previously fined the company €4.1 billion in 2018 for abusing dominance with its Android system and €2.4 billion in 2017 over unfair practices in its shopping comparison service.
The new EU probe—launched Thursday—will also examine whether Google is demoting certain news organisations in search results, further intensifying scrutiny of the company’s influence over online information and advertising markets.
