Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has accused Google of abusing its dominant position in the digital advertising market, potentially harming thousands of UK publishers and advertisers.
The CMA claims that Google has been using anti-competitive practices, particularly by prioritising its own ad exchange, AdX, in open display advertising technology, which has restricted competition.
The CMA’s interim executive director of enforcement, Juliette Enser, highlighted the importance of online advertising in keeping digital content accessible to the public, noting that Google’s alleged practices could be undermining this system. The regulator’s provisional findings suggest that since 2015, Google has been leveraging its dominance on both the buying and selling sides of the advertising supply chain.
Google, however, has rejected the CMA’s interpretation, with Google’s Vice President of Global Ads, Dan Taylor, defending the company’s advertising technology tools. He asserted that Google’s tools are essential for funding content on websites and apps while enabling businesses of all sizes to reach new customers.
This case is part of a broader regulatory scrutiny of Google’s activities in digital advertising. Both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission are investigating the tech giant. In June 2023, EU regulators even suggested that Google might need to sell parts of its AdTech business to address similar concerns. Google, however, has called such measures “disproportionate.”
The CMA has the authority to impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s global turnover and issue legally binding directives to stop any anti-competitive behaviour. Before any final decision is made, the CMA will consider Google’s response to its provisional findings.
