European Commission says Google is partaking in ‘abusive’ ad tech practices

In a preliminary view, the European Commission says Google breached EU antitrust rules.

The regulator says Google distorted competition in the advertising technology (ad tech) market by prioritizing its own ad services, harming competing providers, advertisers, and online publishers.

“Since at least 2014, Google abused its dominant positions,” the regulator says in a press release.

A similar investigation is also taking place in Canada. The Competition Bureau is examining if Google’s online advertising business is harming online display advertising in Canada.

In Europe, the only solution, the regulator says, is to force Google to sell parts of its adtech business, pending an investigation. A “behavioural remedy” won’t work as it won’t prevent Google from continuing with actions that favour the company alone.

“If confirmed, Google’s practices would be illegal under our competition rules,” Margrethe Vestager,  executive vice president in charge of competition policy, said.

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Source: European Commission Via: The Verge