European Union antitrust regulators have targeted Google’s lucrative digital advertising business in an unprecedented decision, saying on Wednesday that the tech giant must sell reduce some of its advertising business to address competition concerns.
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm and top antitrust enforcement agency, said its preliminary position after an investigation was that “only Google’s forced divestment of part of its services “only in response to concerns.
27 EU countries have led the global movement to suppress big technology companies — including groundbreaking rules on artificial intelligence — but it has previously relied on issuing large fines, including three antitrust penalties against Google worth billions of euros (dollars).
It is the first time the bloc has told a tech giant that it has had to split up key parts of its business in violation of strict EU antitrust laws, although it details that. How it will be has not been announced.
Google can now defend themselves by making their case before the committee makes a final decision. The company said it disagreed with the finding and “will respond appropriately” to the EU investigation that focuses on a narrow section of its advertising business.
“Our ad technology tools help websites and application Dan Taylor, Google’s vice president of global advertising. “Google remains committed to creating value for our publisher partners and advertisers in this highly competitive field.”
The committee’s decision stems from a formal investigation opened in June 2021 looking into whether Google violated the bloc’s competition rules by prioritizing visible ad technology services. market its own image online at the expense of rival publishers, advertisers, and ad technology services.
European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager said Google is dominating on both sides of the ad sales market. The commission said Google abused that position by favoring its own ad exchange, reinforcing its ability to charge high fees for its services.
“Google represents the interests of both buyers and sellers. At the same time, Google is setting the rules for how supply and demand meet,” she said at a press conference. “This leads to inherent and pervasive conflicts of interest.”
YouTube is a focus of the commission’s investigation, which looks to see if Google is using the video-sharing site’s dominance to favor its own ad-buying services by imposing restrictions on its services. limited to competitors.
Google’s ad technology business is also being investigated by the UK’s antitrust watchdog and faces litigation in the US.
Brussels previously fined Google more than 8 billion euros (now $8.6 billion) in three separate antitrust lawsuits, involving Android mobile operating systems and shopping and search advertising services.
The company is appealing all three penalties. An EU court last year reduced the penalty for Android to 4.125 million euros. EU regulators have the power to impose penalties worth up to 10% of a company’s annual turnover,
