Google may face another EU antitrust lawsuit next year over its digital advertising business, people familiar with the matter said.

(Reuters file photo)

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] People familiar with the matter said on Thursday (13th) that Alphabet's Google may face the EU's antitrust lawsuit again next year due to its digital advertising business, which will make the company face the fourth time in Europe to be punished with more than 10 yuan. Risk of fines of 100 million euros (approximately NT$30.3 billion).

Google's advertising business generated $100 billion in sales last year, making it Alphabet's most profitable business, Reuters reported.

Advertising still accounts for about 80 percent of revenue, despite the company's aggressive push to hardware, subscription services and cloud computing over the past decade.

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The European Commission launched an investigation into Google's advertising business last June, concerned that the U.S. tech giant could gain an unfair advantage over rivals and advertisers.

The company risked a fourth-degree fine to seek a settlement, but in fact made very small concessions, one of the people said.

In the past 10 years, Google has faced antitrust fines of more than 8 billion euros (about NT$242.8 billion) in the European Union.

EU law enforcement agencies could file a lawsuit early next year, but the exact timing could still change, according to people familiar with the matter.

Google could settle the investigation and avoid these lawsuits with more concessions.

The European Commission declined to comment on the report, while Google did not immediately respond.

Google's leadership in online advertising has been increasingly questioned over the past few years, and rival complaints against Google of anti-competitive behavior have led to antitrust investigations in various countries.

Google's ad business generated nearly $111 billion in sales in the first half of this year, and Refinitiv estimates total ad sales will reach $233 billion this year. , an annual increase of about 11%.

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