Trump Threatens EU With Retaliation After Google Hit With $1 Billion Antitrust Fine

US President Donald Trump has threatened retaliatory measures against the European Union after Brussels imposed a $1 billion antitrust fine on Google, escalating tensions between Washington and the bloc over the regulation of American technology companies.

In a statement posted on social media, Trump criticized the penalty as "highly unethical" and accused the European Union of unfairly targeting US technology firms. He warned that the bloc would "pay a very big price," raising the prospect of new tariffs and a fresh US trade investigation.

Trump also claimed the fines imposed on Google and other American technology companies were discriminatory, arguing that the United States should not serve as a financial "piggy bank" for Europe.

The dispute follows a decision by the European Commission, which ruled that Google had violated the European Union's Digital Markets Act by giving preferential treatment to its own services in search results while restricting app developers from directing users to alternative payment options outside the Google Play Store.

European regulators split the approximately $1 billion penalty between the two violations and ordered Google to bring its practices into compliance within 60 days. Failure to do so could expose the company to additional periodic fines of up to five percent of its average daily global turnover.
 

European Commission Executive Vice President Teresa Ribera defended the decision, saying the rules were designed to ensure fair competition and that digital products should succeed based on quality rather than market dominance.

Google strongly rejected the ruling. Kent Walker, the company's president of global affairs, argued that the decision would reduce the quality of Google's products and claimed the changes were being driven by a small number of competitors rather than benefiting consumers.

The latest enforcement action adds to a series of major penalties imposed on Google by the European Union over recent years. Since 2017, the company has faced multiple multibillion-dollar antitrust fines related to its Android operating system, online advertising business, and digital marketplace practices.
 

The dispute also threatens to complicate broader US-EU trade relations, with Trump's latest comments signaling that technology regulation could become another flashpoint in ongoing negotiations between the two sides.