Big European publishers complain to EU over Google dominance in ads

Google has said its users want more privacy when they are browsing the web, including not being tracked across sites. Picture: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File

Alphabet-owned Google became the target of a competition complaint by the European Publishers Council over its digital advertising business, which could potentially strengthen EU's Margrethe Vestager's investigation into the issue.

Google made $147bn (€130bn) in revenue from online ads in 2020, more than any other company in the world, with ads including search, YouTube and Gmail accounting for the bulk of its overall sales and profits.

About 16% of its revenue came from the company's display or network business, in which other media companies use Google technology to sell ads on their website and apps.

The European Commission opened an investigation in June into whether Google favours its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of rivals, advertisers and online publishers.

The publishers' trade body, whose members include Axel Springer, News UK, Conde Nast, Bonnier News and Editorial Prensa Iberica, took its grievance to the European Commission, alleging Google has an adtech stranglehold over press publishers.

"It is high time for the European Commission to impose measures on Google that actually change, not just challenge, its behaviour," EPC chairman Christian Van Thillo said in a statement.

"Google has achieved end-to-end control of the ad tech value chain, boasting market shares as high as 90-100% in segments of the ad tech chain," he said.

Ms Vestager, who has fined Google more than €8bn in recent years for anti-competitive practices in three cases, last year launched the investigation into Google's digital advertising business.

Google has said it would engage constructively with the Commission.

Meanwhile, Britain's competition regulator said on Friday it had accepted a revised offer from Google of commitments relating to its plan to ban third-party cookies that advertisers use to track consumers.

The Competition and Markets Authority has been investigating Google's plan to cut support for some cookies in Chrome - an initiative called the "Privacy Sandbox" - because the watchdog is worried it will impede competition in digital advertising.

Google has said its users want more privacy when they are browsing the web, including not being tracked across sites.

Other players in the $250bn global digital ad sector, however, have said the loss of cookies in the world's most popular browser will limit their ability to collect information for personalising ads and make them more reliant on Google's user databases.

The CMA said it has now secured legally binding commitments from Google to address its concerns.

- Reuters