London, April 17, 2025 – The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has fined Google £2.4 billion (₹26,172 crore) for abusing its dominant position in the digital advertising market. The fine follows a 15-year legal battle by UK entrepreneurs Shivaun and Adam Raff, who alleged that Google’s search algorithms unfairly penalized their price comparison website, Foundem. The European Court of Justice upheld the penalty after rejecting Google’s appeal.
The CMA found that Google manipulated auction processes to favor its own advertising services, such as AdX, at the expense of competitors. This anti-competitive behavior was found to harm UK publishers and advertisers. The CMA has warned of further actions, including additional fines or changes to Google’s practices, to ensure fair competition.
