Media Freedom Groups Urge Stronger EU Action After Google Fine

September 10, 2025 – General – 

Media-freedom organisations, including the International Press Institute (IPI) have welcomed the European Commission’s recent €2.95 billion antitrust fine against Google for abusing its dominance in digital advertising technology (adtech). They argue that while the fine is a significant step, it does not go far enough to curb the underlying structural problems.

These groups assert that Google’s conduct — including favouring its own ad exchange (“AdX”) and display-ad serving tools — has imposed high costs on advertisers and squeezed revenue streams for independent publishers and news media. They are particularly concerned about how these practices weaken media pluralism by undermining the financial viability of smaller media outlets.

IPI and its partners are calling on the EU to go beyond fines. They propose that to tackle Google’s adtech monopoly truly, the European Commission should consider breaking up parts of Google’s adtech business, enforcing stricter separation and oversight of its related services, and ensuring transparency in how platforms favour their own services.

The organisations frame this as essential not only to enforce competition law, but also to protect democratic values tied to press freedom. They warn that without decisive remedies, large tech firms can treat fines as a cost of business, allowing monopoly power to entrench and the diversity of voices in media to erode.

IPI’s position suggests that remedying abuses in digital advertising isn’t only about economic fairness, but also about preserving the infrastructure that enables a free press. Strong regulatory enforcement, structural remedies, and safeguards for publishers are seen as vital for ensuring that media organisations can sustain themselves and continue to inform the public.

Reference – 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wgn3lre14o

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/business/google-eu-antitrust-fine.html

Media freedom groups welcome Google fine and call on EU to break up the tech giant’s digital advertising monopoly