Google Hit by Fresh EU Antitrust Probe Over Search Ads Pricing

2026년 2월 13일 · Unknown · financial · 출처 Yahoo Finance

Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Google, the target for billions of euros in European Union antitrust fines, has been hit by a fresh EU probe over concerns it’s illegally rigging the cost of advertising on its search engine.

The European Commission suspects Google is “artificially increasing the clearing price” of ad auctions “to the detriment of advertisers,” according to a copy of a Feb. 9 letter to potentially affected businesses, seen by Bloomberg.

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The Brussels-based regulator said that the suspected conduct — if backed up by evidence — could violate competition rules, which can trigger fines as high as 10% of global annual sales.

In an accompanying request for information, EU watchdogs ask market participants about Google’s dominance across several online advertising markets. While the probe is in its early stages, it could in the near future be announced formally by Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera, according to people familiar with the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The European Commission and Google declined to comment.

Similar allegations have earlier been leveled against Google by the US Department of Justice, which had attempted to impose a sale of Google’s chrome browser. That move was overruled by a Washington judge.

The EU scrutiny risks adding to the company’s €9.5 billion ($11.3 billion) EU fines tally and worsening relations with the Trump administration. It also adds to a string of fresh probes launched by Brussels in recent weeks against the Mountain View, California-based company.

Under the EU’s powerful Digital Markets Act rules, Google was recently handed a six-month deadline to lift technical barriers to rival AI search assistants on Android and give key data to other search engine providers.

Separately, the company faces upcoming penalties under the DMA over allegations it unfairly favors in-house services across its sprawling search empire and for preventing app developers from steering consumers to offers outside of its Play Store.

The company is also being probed over concerns it unfairly demotes certain news results.