“Concerned that Google is actively using its dominance in this sector to preference its own services,” the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has stated.
The competition authority in the United Kingdom has made a provisional finding that Google is abusing its dominant market position, which has resulted in the business being subjected to more examination regarding its advertising technology practices. “By using its dominance in online display advertising to favor its own ad tech services,” the Competition and Markets Authority stated in a statement of objections that Google is creating an environment that is detrimental to competition in the countries where it operates.
Since 2015, the watchdog asserts that Google has attempted to strengthen its AdX advertising exchange by capitalizing on its dominating position in the industry as the operator of the Google Ads and DV260 ad-buying tools as well as DoubleClick For Publishers, which is a publisher ad server. It was said by the CMA that AdX is the most important component of the firm’s ad technology stack. Additionally, it is the platform on which the company charges the largest fees to advertisers, which amount to around twenty percent of each bid for ad space that they process.
“The vast majority of publishers and advertisers use Google’s ad tech services in order to bid for and sell advertising space” on websites, according to the preliminary findings of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). By highlighting its own products and services, “Google disadvantages competitors and prevents them competing on a level playing field to provide publishers and advertisers with a better, more competitive service that supports growth in their business,” the CMA claimed in its statement.
Google is given the opportunity to provide feedback through the statement of objections, and the CMA will take into consideration such views before proceeding with any decision that is final. There are three individuals who make up the case decision group, and none of them were involved in the preliminary inquiry or in sending the statement of objections. If the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) ultimately concludes that Google has violated competition regulations, it has the authority to levy a fine of up to ten percent of the company’s annual revenue across the globe and to require legally binding changes to the advertising technology industry.
Dan Taylor, vice president of Google Ads, stated that the company does not agree with the judgment and that it “will respond accordingly.” According to a statement that Taylor provided to CNBC, “Our advertising technology tools enable businesses of all sizes to effectively reach new customers and help websites and apps fund their content.” “In this extremely competitive industry, Google continues to be dedicated to contributing to the creation of value for our publisher and advertisement partners. The interpretations of the advertising technology industry that are at the heart of this case are faulty.
In other parts of the world, regulators have taken aim at Google’s prominence in the advertising technology market. In June of the previous year, the European Commission leveled allegations of “abusive practices” against the corporation in the realm of online advertising. A prospective order for Google to adopt remedies may not be sufficient to rectify those abuses, according to the announcement made by the European Commission. That might result in the European Union dismantling Google’s advertising business.
While everything is going on, a trial between the Department of Justice and Google is scheduled to begin on Monday. The trial will be a head-to-head confrontation. As a result of what is considered to be an illegal monopoly that Google enjoys in that market, the agency has demanded that the company’s advertising technology business be disincorporated. There was no success for Google in their bid to get the case dismissed. Following the conclusion of a trial that was prompted by a separate lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice, a federal judge issued a ruling that Google had illegally abused its monopoly over the search industry.