Google puts forward remedies for EU antitrust breach but hopes to avoid an adtech break-up.
Google announced today (14 November) that it has submitted a plan to the European Commission to address antitrust breaches related to its adtech business.
The tech giant said that its compliance plan “fully addresses” the Commission’s concerns. However, it claims that a break-up of its business – which has been mooted – would “harm the thousands of European publishers and advertisers who use Google tools to grow their business”.
In September, Google was fined €2.95bn by the Commission for “distorting competition” in the advertising technology industry.
The Commission found that Google breached antitrust rules by favouring its own adtech services, including its ad-buying tools and its ad exchange AdX, and that this hurts competing adtech service providers, advertisers and online publishers.
At the time, Google was given 60 days to detail a plan for how it will bring its “self-preferencing practices to an end” and “implement measures to cease its inherent conflicts of interest along the adtech supply chain”.
“Our plan includes immediate product changes to end the specific practices the Commission challenges,” Google’s statement today reads.
“For example, we are giving publishers the option to set different minimum prices for different bidders when using Google Ad Manager.
“We are also proposing significant changes to address any suggestions of conflict of interest, including increasing the interoperability of our tools to give publishers and advertisers more choice and flexibility.”
The Alphabet-owned company reiterated its disagreement with the Commission’s decision and said it will appeal.
Google’s adtech practices have been the subject of intense scrutiny on both sides of the pond.
In April, it was found to have monopolised certain parts of its adtech services in a case brought by the US Department of Justice.
Judge Leonie M Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia found that the search giant acted illegally to monopolise parts of its publisher ad server and ad exchange to dominate the ad market and make large profits.
In recent weeks, Brinkema has been hearing arguments from both sides on how best to address Google’s illegal adtech monopoly. The US government has argued that the company should be forced to break up its services by selling AdX.
Google argued, as it has done in its statement to the EU today, that breaking up the company would be too disruptive and complicated to pull off.
The EU could issue a break-up order if Google continues its anti-competitive practices, sources have told Reuters.
The sources also noted that if the US court rules in favour of the US government, the issue would be resolved for the Commission.
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