The European Commission announced measures taken in its investigation of Google, according to a June 14 statement release.
The Commission is examining concerns that Google may have illegally distorted competition by favoring its own advertising technology (adtech) services, potentially abusing its dominant position.
The European Commission has taken a significant step in its investigation into Google's activities in the ad tech industry, informing the tech giant of its preliminary view that the company has violated European Union (EU) antitrust rules. Beginning in 2021, the Commission's concerns revolved around Google's alleged favoritism towards its own online display adtech services, potentially distorting competition and harming rival providers, advertisers, and online publishers.
"We should look ahead," Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president of the European Commission, said in the statement release. "If we come to the conclusion that these practices are illegal, we need to ensure that they are brought effectively to an end."
A separate June 14 press release also stated that the investigation by the European Commission determined Google holds dominant positions in the European Economic Area-wide markets for publisher ad servers (specifically with its DFP service) and programmatic ad-buying tools for the open web (with Google Ads and DV360).
The Commission alleges that since at least 2014, Google has abused its dominant positions in two ways. First, the Commission asserts that Google favored its AdX ad exchange in the ad selection auction run by its dominant publisher ad server, DFP. This allegedly involved providing AdX with advance information about the value of competing bids, thus giving it an advantage. Second, the Commission claims that Google's ad-buying tools, including Google Ads and DV360, exhibited a preference for AdX. The company allegedly avoided competing ad exchanges and predominantly placed bids on AdX, thereby making it the most attractive option.
To formalize its investigation, the European Commission has issued a Statement of Objections to Google. This action allows the involved parties to examine the objections raised against them, access the Commission's investigation file, respond in writing, and request an oral hearing to present their comments to representatives of the Commission and national competition authorities.
"We look forward to showing how we have enabled higher-quality, more effective digital ads that have helped fund broader access to content and information online for everyone," Dan Taylor, vice president of Global Ads at Google, said in a recent Google blogpost.
Following Google's exercise of its rights of defense, the Commission will evaluate whether there is sufficient evidence of infringement, the press release said. If proven, the Commission has the authority to adopt a decision that prohibits the conduct and impose fines of up to 10% of Google's annual worldwide turnover.
