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Google Under Investigation by the EU for Advertising Services

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google oglaĊĦavanje / Image by: foto

The European Commission has launched an investigation to determine whether Google is violating competition regulations in the European Union with its online advertising services.

Google is among the leading companies in the world in the online advertising sector and also provides advertising intermediation services, particularly through the Display Network service.

"Google collects data that is then used for targeted advertising, sells advertising space, and provides advertising intermediation services. This means that Google is present at almost all levels of the online advertising supply chain. We are concerned that Google has made it difficult for competing online advertising services to compete across the entire advertising complex –  explained European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager at a press conference regarding the reasons for launching the investigation.

Brussels wants to determine through the investigation whether the American software giant has favored its own online advertising services, thereby violating European competition regulations.

The investigation should show how Google’s requirement for clients to use its Display & Video 360 and Google Ads services for placing ads, for example, on YouTube, affects the market and whether it restricts other companies’ access to user data used for advertising.  

– Online advertising services are a key instrument through which Google and publishers monetize their online services – emphasized European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager in a statement released on Tuesday.

The online advertising sector has significantly developed to leverage the ubiquity of smartphones and computers in everyday life. Millions of people in Europe use them, and publishers are trying to compensate for revenue lost from free content publication with online ads.

The EC states that in 2019 alone, 20 billion euros were allocated for online advertising.