Google ordered by EU to break up digital ad business for ‘abusing its dominant position’
- The European Commission said Google ‘abused its dominant positions’ in the online ad market and recommended it sell part of its ad services to ensure fair competition
- The EU executive invited Google to now respond to this preliminary finding, made after a two-year antitrust probe, before a definitive finding was made it says
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch and top antitrust enforcer, said that its preliminary view after an investigation is that “only the mandatory divestment by Google of part of its services” would satisfy the concerns.
The commission on Wednesday said Google “abused its dominant positions” in the online ad market.
This is a strong statement but it is a reflection of the nature of the markets, how they function and also why a behavioural commitment seemed to be out of the question
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said Google may have to sell part of its adtech business because a behavioural remedy is unlikely to be effective at stopping the anticompetitive practices.
“Of course I know this is a strong statement but it is a reflection of the nature of the markets, how they function and also why a behavioural commitment seemed to be out of the question,” she told a news conference.
Google is the world’s dominant digital advertising platform with a 28 per cent market share of global ad revenue, according to research firm Insider Intelligence.
The adtech business accounted for 79 per cent of the tech giant’s total revenue last year.
