The Department of Justice (DoJ) and the European Commission (the executive branch of EU politics and lawmaking) recently both declared Google a monopoly. Following the Commission’s €2.95 billion ($3.5 billion) fine for Google’s antitrust violations, President Donald Trump has threatened a retaliatory tariff investigation.
Antitrust laws first originated in the 1890s with the Sherman Antitrust Act. They were put in place to prevent the abuse of the market and the formation of monopolies. Monopolies let one company have control over an entire market, which is detrimental to the economy and consumers.
In a lawsuit initially filed in Oct. 2020, the U.S. started an investigation into Google. In Aug. 2024, the U.S. successfully declared Google a monopoly and declared that it was employing monopolistic tactics to maintain its position.
On Sept. 2, 2025, they were given their punishment, which was relatively timid. For context, many politicians and economists were recommending that Google should be forced to sell Chrome.
Google’s punishment in the U.S. for breaking antitrust laws was that it couldn’t continue to make exclusive contracts with its products (Gemini, Chrome, Google search, etc.) Additionally, Google was forced to publicize its user-interaction data and search index to competitors.
The reasoning behind this light punishment is that the DoJ does not want another Blockbuster-Netflix situation, where the company Blockbuster was hit with a massive fine around the same time that Netflix took over the entertainment industry. The DoJ is predicting that artificial intelligence will replace search engines and that it would not be wise to punish Google when it becomes inconsequential relatively soon.
On Sept. 5, the European Commission fined Google 2.95 billion euros (3.5 billion dollars) for its alleged breaking of antitrust laws. Among other things, the commission alleges that Google broke antitrust laws by attempting to control online advertising businesses and leaving itself as the only viable option. The commission gave Google 60 days to come up with a plan to fix these problems.
The EU cracking down on the tech industry has been a recurrent trend in modern global politics. This is Google’s fourth time in the EU’s antitrust ring, as they have been hit with a multi-billion-dollar fine multiple times before. However, it should be noted that Google generated approximately $28.2 billion in its second quarter of 2025, making the $3.5 billion fine somewhat inconsequential.
Both Google and President Trump responded to the fine. Google’s Global Head of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland said that it was unjustified and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses. President Trump reacted negatively to the fine on Truth Social, saying that the fine was unfair, discriminatory and would hurt American businesses.
Going even further, Trump has threatened to launch a Section 301 investigation into the EU’s trade practices if they do not repeal their decision. This type of investigation could result in retaliatory tariffs, which Trump has used before against other countries. These tariffs would break an already fragile alliance with the EU after Trump’s tariffs earlier this year.
