European Commission launches investigation against Google for anti-competitive practices

Published on : 06/22/2021 – 14:19

Google pinned again. The European Commission announced on Tuesday, June 22, the opening of an investigation against the American Internet giant for anti-competitive practices in online display advertising technologies.

Google “is present at almost every level of the supply chain when it comes to online display advertising. We fear (that it) has made it more difficult to compete (…) for (…) competing services, “EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

The object of the investigation will be to determine whether the U.S. giant has broken EU competition rules by favoring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of its competitors, the U.S. said on Tuesday. European executive.

The Commission clarified that its investigation would cover several Google services, including Display & Video 360 (DV360) and Google Ads which allow the purchase of online advertisements on YouTube. Google Ad Manager, used by publishers to auction advertising space, or Ad Exchange (AdX), which is one of the many marketplaces used to manage auctions are also concerned.

147 billion dollars in revenue

Last year, Google earned $ 147 billion in revenue from online advertising, more than any other company in the world. Ads on its sites, including the search engine, YouTube and Gmail, accounted for the bulk of sales and profits.

About 16% of revenue came from its display or network business, where other media companies use Google technology to sell ads on their website and apps.

Google has said it will engage constructively with the European Commission.

“Thousands of European companies use our advertising products every day to reach new customers and fund their websites. They choose them because they are competitive and efficient,” said a Google spokesperson.

This investigation by the European competition authority opens a new front against Google, which has already been sentenced to more than 8 billion euros in fines over the past decade for blocking its rivals in the field of online shopping , Android smartphones and online advertising.

With AFP and Reuters