LONDON — European Union regulators have launched a fresh antitrust investigation of Google, this time over whether the US tech giant is stifling competition in digital advertising technology.
The European Commission said Tuesday that it has opened a formal investigation into whether Google violated the bloc’s competition rules by favoring its own online display advertising technology services at the expense of rival publishers, advertisers and advertising technology services, according to AP.
The investigation underscores European concerns about Google’s dominance in the online advertising industry and whether it’s exploiting its data advantage to cement its position in the display ad market, which the EU estimates is worth 20 billion euros ($24 billion) annually.
Online display ads are the banners and text that show up on websites such as newspaper home pages and are personalised based on an internet user’s browsing history.
Search ads, in contrast, appear alongside search engine results and are based on keywords that users are looking for.
The commission, the EU’s executive arm and the bloc’s top antitrust enforcer, is looking in particular at whether Google is distorting competition by restricting access by third parties to user data for ad purposes on websites and apps.
Google said competition in online ads has made them more affordable and relevant, cut fees and expanded options for publishers and advertisers.
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