In a recent development, Google has been accused of violating European Union antitrust laws due to its alleged manipulation of the online advertising market, posing a significant challenge to the tech giant’s business model. The charges were filed by the European Commission, the executive body of the 27-member EU, making it the fourth antitrust case against Google in recent years. The EU claims that Google abused its market control in the buying and selling of online advertisements.
This move by the EU follows similar accusations made by the US Justice Department in January, which accused Google of illegally exploiting its monopoly over online advertising technology. Additionally, Britain’s antitrust authority has also been investigating Google’s advertising practices.
The outcome of these cases could have far-reaching consequences for Alphabet, Google’s parent company, as the majority of its $60 billion profit last year came from advertising revenue. Advertising is a crucial aspect of Google’s popular services like search, email, maps, and Android, enabling the company to offer them for free. Margrethe Vestager, the executive vice-president of the European Commission responsible for digital and competition policy, expressed concerns about Google’s potential abuse of its market position, which could have harmed competitors, publishers, and increased costs for advertisers.
The charges against Google are part of the ongoing efforts by European authorities to rein in the power of major technology companies. Antitrust investigations have also been launched against Apple and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.
The EU has introduced new antitrust and digital services laws to strengthen regulatory oversight of tech giants. In addition, the European Parliament recently passed a draft law to regulate artificial intelligence.
Google, on the other hand, disagreed with the findings of the regulators and stated that it would provide a response accordingly. According to Dan Taylor, Google’s vice-president of global ads, their advertising technology tools support content funding for websites and apps and help businesses of all sizes effectively reach new customers.
