Alphabet Inc.’s Google vows to work with European UnionThe threat to break up its advertising business sets the stage for an antitrust battle that could ultimately rival its ongoing conflicts with advertising companies. U.S. Department of Justice and state attorney general.
Google warned in a recent letter to EU regulators that it would not accept forced divestment Some of its services, regarded as The EU’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, who is currently on leave, said this was the “only way” to restore competition.
A person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named, said Google would formally object to the EU’s June objection statement by the end of the year.
The move could trigger a years-long legal dispute with EU regulators, who accuse Google of favoring its own ad exchange program over its rivals, cementing the company’s central position in the ad tech supply chain.
In June, the EU expressed concern that Google’s alleged intentional conduct in the ad tech supply chain gave its own ad exchange AdX a competitive advantage, which could exclude rival ad exchanges and harm fair competition.
The EU case is a direct attack on the black box of online advertising. When a user clicks on a web page, Google automatically calculates and provides advertising space and price to advertisers and publishers.
this European Commission declined to comment. A Google spokesperson had no comment but pointed to an earlier blog post in which the company said the EU complaint “fails to recognize how advanced ad technology can help merchants reach customers and grow their business.”
Since the EU complaint was filed, Vestager has temporarily left the Brussels committee to seek the position of president of the European Investment Bank.
A statement of objections sets out the EU’s findings and is usually (although not always) a precursor to fines or orders requiring companies to change their business practices. The company on the receiving end can object to the document in writing or at an oral hearing. When the EU makes a final decision, companies can sue regulators.
Google has been in the European Union’s spotlight for years. Vestager’s team has fined Google a total of 8.3 billion euros ($8.8 billion), including for abusing its dominance in mobile operating systems and its display advertising business, all of which the company is appealing.
But the EU’s largest and latest case has been overshadowed by events in the United States, where the Justice Department and state attorneys general are suing Google in a case that could also lead to the breakup of the 25-year-old company.
this us The showdown centers on agreements between the tech giant and other companies to make Google’s search engine a pre-selected or default option in browsers and mobile devices.
—With assistance from Stephanie Bodoni
Svlook
