Hold or fold? The Google adtech case will test Europe’s resolve

The reaction from Washington to Europe’s fine against X earlier this month was loud, but hardly unexpected.

Brussels imposed the Digital Service's Act (DSA)’s first-ever penalty after X repeatedly refused to fix misleading verification practices and basic transparency gaps.

Within hours, Elon Musk threatened retaliation not only against the EU but also against individual officials, and abruptly cut off the EU Commission’s access to its own advertising account on X.

Then came the political escalation.

The US deputy secretary of state accused the EU of “undermining US security,” not because of any foreign policy decision but for enforcing European law.

Since returning to office, the Trump administration has treated Europe’s digital and competition laws as political targets: threatening tariffs, announcing visa bans tied to supposed “foreign censorship,” and attacking the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act at every turn. 

The new US National Security Strategy (NSS) released last week makes this approach explicit.

It casts overseas regulation as an attack on US interests and identifies preserving Big Tech dominance as a national security priority. It leaves no doubt about the administration’s intentions: US tech power is an asset to defend, and Europe’s digital laws are something Trump and his allies intend to dismantle.

No more EU ambiguity

In this environment, ambiguity from the EU is simply not an option.

Europe must be equally clear that its tech and competition laws are the product of democratic choices, are not up for negotiation, and will be enforced firmly when necessary.

That is essential for Europe’s sovereignty, its prosperity and, above all, for its citizens. There is no better moment to demonstrate this resolve than in the EU’s landmark case against Google’s advertising monopoly. 

Digital advertising is now central to Europe’s economy, generating more than €118bn last year. Nearly two-thirds of all advertising spend in Europe is digital. The structure of this market determines the financial health of European media, the viability of new entrants, and the resilience of Europe’s information ecosystem.

Enforcing the law in the Google adtech case is the clearest way to show that Europe’s sovereignty is real

Google sits at the centre with extraordinary power.

It runs the marketplace where ads are bought and sold while simultaneously representing both buyers (advertisers) and sellers (publishers). No credible regulator would allow one company to both operate a financial exchange and trade on it.

Yet this is the exact structure underpinning Europe’s digital advertising economy. Publishers — especially local news outlets — have paid the price through collapsing revenues and shrinking newsrooms, as have consumers through higher costs passed on by advertisers.  

The commission has already concluded that Google abused its dominant position across the adtech supply chain.

Earlier this year, the commission instructed Google to submit proposals addressing its structural conflict of interest.

Google’s proposals, delivered last month, do nothing of the sort.

Instead of tackling the core problem, it offers marginal behavioural tweaks that leave its monopoly and the conflict at its heart entirely intact.

This is why a wide coalition of publishers, civil society organisations and experts has urged the commission to reject cosmetic changes and adopt a structural solution that removes the conflict altogether.

They also argue that Europe should not wait for a court to rule in a parallel US case. The EU’s evidence is already established, the legal findings are clear and the responsibility to act now lies with the commission.

The question is simple.

Will the EU enforce its laws on their merits, or temper its decisions to avoid another clash with the US government?

Stepping back now would send a damning signal: that even when Europe’s laws are clear and the facts are settled, enforcement can be softened under foreign pressure.

This is precisely the dynamic anticipated in the NSS; the more Europe hesitates, the more it legitimises the administration’s hostile approach and encourages further interference.

The Trump administration and Big Tech have made their intentions clear. Europe must be equally firm.

Enforcing the law in the Google adtech case is the clearest way to show that Europe’s sovereignty is real, that its rules are not subject to coercion, and that the interests of its citizens will not be subordinated to those of foreign governments and corporations.

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