In its investigation of the California-based internet search giant, the European Union regulators found that Google dominated the market for publisher ad servers and ad buying tools on the internet with its “DoubleClick for Publishers” ad manager, Google Ads, and display and video services, also known as DV360.
“Today’s decision shows that Google abused its dominant position in ad tech harming publishers, advertisers, and consumers,” Teresa Ribera, the commission’s executive vice president for clean, just, and competitive transition, said in a statement.
“This behavior is illegal under EU antitrust rules. Google must now come forward with a serious remedy to address its conflicts of interest, and if it fails to do so, we will not hesitate to impose strong remedies.”
Over its four-year investigation, the EU’s executive body found that from at least 2014 to the present, Google “abused such dominant positions” in violation of EU rules by favoring its own ad exchange over competitors in the ad selection and buying process.
“For example, Google Ads was avoiding competing ad exchanges and mainly placing bids on AdX, thus making it the most attractive ad exchange,” the Commission stated.
In its ruling, the Commission ordered Google to cease these “self-preferencing practices.” It also instructed the Silicon Valley tech giant to adopt measures to eliminate its inherent conflicts of interest along the ad-tech supply chain.
Google now has 60 days to notify the EU about the measures it plans to propose in this regard. Once the measures are received, the Commission said, it will carefully evaluate them to see if they resolve the conflicts of interest.
If Google fails to comply, the EU said, it will proceed to impose an appropriate remedy, including “already signal[ing] its preliminary view that only Google's divestment of part of its services would address the situation of inherent conflicts of interest.”
“Digital markets exist to serve people and must be grounded in trust and fairness. And when markets fail, public institutions must act to prevent dominant players from abusing their power. True freedom means a level playing field, where everyone competes on equal terms and citizens have a genuine right to choose,” Ribera said.
The EU started its investigation of Google in June 2021 by opening formal proceedings regarding potential anticompetitive behavior in the company's online search and digital advertising sectors. In June 2023, the commission issued a statement of objections to Google, which the company responded to in December 2023.
In a statement provided to The Epoch Times, Google challenged the EU ruling and said it would appeal the multibillion-dollar judgment in court.
“The European Commission’s decision about our ad tech services is wrong and we will appeal. It imposes an unjustified fine and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, head of global regulatory affairs for Google.
The decision by the commission, which acts as the executive body of the 27-nation European Union, comes less than a week after U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta rejected federal and state prosecutors’ request that Google be forced to sell its Chrome browser.
In that Sept. 2 antitrust ruling brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2020, U.S. officials alleged that Google used anticompetitive tactics to maintain its dominance, securing contracts that made it the default search engine on web browsers and smartphones.
As a remedy, Google will be required to share data with competitors in the online search industry. Following Tuesday’s ruling, Mehta ordered Google and the DOJ to meet and submit a revised final judgment by Sept. 10.
In another antitrust case more similar to the EU’s investigation, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia will hold a remedies trial on Sept. 22 to consider spinning off Google’s ad-tech division due to Google’s anticompetitive conduct that hamstrung or eliminated other advertising competitors.
In April, the DOJ won against Google when Brinkema ruled in United States et al. v. Google that the company violated antitrust law by monopolizing the open-web digital advertising market. According to the judge's ruling, the company “harmed Google’s publishing customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web.”