03:00 PM EDT, 09/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google ( GOOG ) faces a fine of 2.95 billion euros ($3.46 billion) for allegedly "distorting competition" in the advertising technology market, the European Commission said Friday, though the US tech giant termed the move as unjustified.

The company violated European Union antitrust rules by favoring its own online display adtech services to the detriment of competitors, advertisers and online publishers, the commission said.

"Today's decision shows that Google ( GOOG ) abused its dominant position in adtech harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers," Teresa Ribera, the commission's executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition, said in a statement. "Google ( GOOG ) must now come forward with a serious remedy to address its conflicts of interest, and if it fails to do so, we will not hesitate to impose strong remedies."

Google ( GOOG ) called the European Commission's decision "wrong" and vowed to appeal it.

"It imposes an unjustified fine and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money," Google Global Head of Regulatory Affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland said in a blog post. "There's nothing anticompetitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before."

The European Commission launched formal proceedings into possible anticompetitive practices by Google ( GOOG ) in the online adtech market in June 2021.

Since at least 2014, Google ( GOOG ) has "abused" its dominant positions in the market for publisher ad servers with its DFP service and in the market for programmatic ad buying tools for the open web with its Google Ads and DV360 services, the European Commission said.

The company now has 60 days to inform the commission about how it plans to bring the alleged practices to an end and to take steps to cease its "inherent conflicts of interest" along the adtech supply chain, according to the statement.

"The commission has already signaled its preliminary view that only the divestment by Google ( GOOG ) of part of its services would address the situation of inherent conflicts of interest, but it first wishes to hear and assess Google's ( GOOG ) proposal," the European Commission said.

Earlier this week, a US federal court judge ruled that Google ( GOOG ) will not be required to divest its Chrome web browser over competition concerns, and can continue making preload product payments to its distribution partners.

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