According to the Commission, Google engaged in “self-preferencing practices” in respect of its own ad tech services in two markets where it considered the company to be dominant, with a view to providing its own ad exchange with a competitive advantage.
The Commission found this to constitute an abuse of a dominant market position, in breach of EU competition laws. It has ordered the company to end the practices and to “implement measures to cease its inherent conflicts of interest along the ad tech supply chain”.
Google said it disagrees with the decision and intends to appeal, while US president Donald Trump described the action taken by the Commission as “very unfair” and said it could spur a response under trade laws in force in the US.
Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president, global head of regulatory affairs, at Google, said: “The European Commission’s decision about our ad tech services is wrong and we will appeal. It imposes an unjustified fine and requires changes that will hurt thousands of European businesses by making it harder for them to make money.”
Mulholland said: “There’s nothing anti-competitive in providing services for ad buyers and sellers, and there are more alternatives to our services than ever before.”
Google has 60 days – until early November – to inform the Commission how it plans to comply with its order. Teresa Ribera, Commission executive vice-president for clean, just and competitive transition, said the Commission “will not hesitate to impose an appropriate remedy” if the company does not put forward “a viable plan”.
“At this stage, it appears that the only way for Google to end its conflict of interest effectively is with a structural remedy, such as selling some part of its ad tech business,” said Ribera. “This seems both necessary and proportionate to effectively stop the infringement.
In a social media post, Trump said his government “will not allow” what he called “discriminatory actions” taken in the EU against US technology companies “to stand”.
“We cannot let this happen to brilliant and unprecedented American ingenuity and, if it does, I will be forced to start a Section 301 proceeding to nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these taxpaying American companies,” Trump said.
‘Section 301’ is a reference to Section 301 of the US Trade Act of 1974, which provides the US government with powers to impose trade-related measures, such as tariffs, against countries it considers have imposed unfair or discriminatory measures of their own.
The Commission has recently fined US-based technology companies in other cases over breaches of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) as well as infringement of wider EU antitrust rules. Since announcing the fine against Google, the Commission confirmed that it had accepted legally binding commitments in a separate EU competition law case involving Microsoft, where no fines were imposed.
In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority has separately been examining ad tech practices.