UK regulators have preliminarily found that Google used anti-competitive tactics to dominate the market for online advertising technology.
An investigation by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has warned that the potential illegality could harm thousands of publishers and advertisers in the UK.
It accused Google of using its technology to prevent rivals from “competing on a level playing field” in exchange for billions of pounds spent by British businesses on online advertising.
Google said the regulator’s findings were “flawed” and said it would respond.
According to the CMA, the vast majority of businesses use Google’s services when placing digital ads on their websites.
Google insists it has a strong commercial incentive to help British businesses thrive and argues that advertisers choose to use Google because its products work well and help their businesses grow.
The regulator will now consider Google’s representations before deciding what action to take.
If Google is found to have broken competition law, regulators could fine the company up to 10% of the group’s annual global turnover and issue it a legally binding order.
“We have made preliminary findings that Google is using its market power to hinder competition in the ads people see on websites,” Juliette Enser, the CMA’s interim executive director of enforcement, said in a statement.
She noted that many businesses are able to keep their digital content free using revenue from digital advertising, which reaches millions of people in the UK.
“That’s why it’s so important that publishers and advertisers — who provide free content — can benefit from effective competition and get a fair deal when they buy or sell digital ad space,” she wrote.
But Dan Taylor, Google’s vice president of global advertising, believes the search giant’s ad technology helps websites and apps raise money for their content and effectively attract new customers.
“At its core, this case rests on a misinterpretation of the ad tech landscape. We disagree with the CMA’s view and will respond accordingly,” he wrote.
Google’s activities in the advertising technology space are also under ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission.
Competition economist Dr Christina Kafara told the BBC that while the CMA’s statement of objections undoubtedly created “another headache” for Google, the regulator was merely “joining the club that has already taken action”.
“Britain is by no means a pathfinder here,” she said.
The Texas Department of Justice — and nine other states Suing Google for abusing its dominance in advertising technology By 2020, all developing countries and the European Union will be far ahead, Dr Kafara added.
In 2023, EU competition regulators told Google that it might need to sell off parts of its ad technology business to address their concerns.
But the tech giant argued it was a “disproportionate” move.
Separately, Google is seeking to appeal a June UK court ruling that allowed a £13.6 billion class action lawsuit against the company to proceed.
The case alleges that the search giant’s actions violated competition rules and caused losses to online publishers in the UK.
Google has vowed to fight the claim “robustly and based on facts”.
Additional reporting by Liv McMahon
