Google to overhaul global ad model after France slaps it with US$268 million antitrust fine

France’s action against Google is the first in the world to tackle anticompetitive behaviour in online advertising

The US tech giant also pledged to remedy the situation by improving the interoperability of its Google Ad Manager services for third parties

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France's competition regulator fined Google US$268 million on June 7, 2021, after finding the company had abused its dominant market position for placing online ads. Photo: Agence France-Presse

Published: 6:17pm, 7 Jun 2021Updated: 8:57pm, 7 Jun 2021

Google agreed to pay 220 million euros (US$268 million) and change the way its business works across the world after settling a French investigation that struck at the heart of its power over online advertising.

France’s antitrust agency said on Monday the US tech giant used its dominance over ad sales and purchasing on its platforms to distort the market to its own advantage, hurting publishers such as News Corp.

“Google took advantage of its vertical integration to skew the process,” Isabelle de Silva, who heads France’s Autorité de la concurrence, said at a Paris press conference on Monday. She described Google’s behavior as “particularly serious”.

The decision is a rare look inside the black-box of online advertising, where Google automatically calculates and offers ad space and prices to advertisers and publishers as a user clicks on a web page.

In addition to the fine, the Alphabet subsidiary entered a pledge to remedy the situation by making sure its Google Ad Manager services work more smoothly for third parties.

The French competition body, Autorité de la concurrence, said Google has been unfairly sending business to its advertising server and its online-ad auction house to the detriment of rivals. Photo: Agence France-Presse