Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally found that Google abused its dominant position in digital advertising, raising concerns over restricted competition. The antitrust regulator said on Friday that Google was employing anti-competitive practices in its ad tech system, favoring its own ad exchange to the detriment of British publishers and advertisers.
The CMA stated that Google’s behavior, particularly its preference for its ad exchange AdX, could be harming thousands of businesses relying on digital advertising for revenue. Juliette Enser, the CMA’s interim executive director of enforcement, remarked, “We’ve provisionally found that Google is using its market power to hinder competition in online ads, affecting the ads people see on websites.”
Google, however, disagreed with the CMA’s findings. Dan Taylor, Google’s vice president of global ads, defended the company’s practices, stating, “Our advertising tools help websites and apps fund content, enabling businesses of all sizes to reach new customers. The core of this case rests on flawed interpretations of the ad tech sector.”
The CMA’s probe is not an isolated one, as both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission are also investigating Google’s activities in the ad tech space. In June 2023, EU regulators suggested that Google may need to divest part of its ad tech business to address competition concerns, a move Google previously deemed “disproportionate.”
The British regulator highlighted that since 2015, Google has allegedly abused its dominance across both the buying and selling sides of the advertising supply chain. This conduct reportedly gave its own ad exchange an unfair advantage in auctions.
The CMA has the authority to impose a fine of up to 10% of a company’s global revenue if infringement is confirmed. It will now consider Google’s representations before making a final decision on the appropriate course of action.