Google’s promoting tech focused in European publishers’ grievance

BRUSSELS, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Google (GOOGL.O) on Friday was focused in an antitrust grievance by the European Publishers Council over its digital promoting enterprise, probably strengthening EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager’s investigation into the problem.

Alphabet Inc’s Google made $147 billion in income from on-line advertisements in 2020, greater than every other firm on the planet, with advertisements together with search, YouTube and Gmail accounting for the majority of its total gross sales and income. learn extra

About 16% of its income got here from the corporate’s show or community enterprise, through which different media firms use Google know-how to promote advertisements on their web site and apps.

The European Fee opened an investigation in June into whether or not Google favours its personal on-line show promoting know-how providers to the detriment of rivals, advertisers and on-line publishers. learn extra

The publishers’ commerce physique, whose members embrace Axel Springer (SPRGn.S), Information UK, Conde Nast, Bonnier Information and Editorial Prensa Iberica, took its grievance to the European Fee, alleging Google has an adtech stranglehold over press publishers.

“It’s excessive time for the European Fee to impose measures on Google that really change, not simply problem, its behaviour,” EPC Chairman Christian Van Thillo mentioned in an announcement.

“Google has achieved end-to-end management of the advert tech worth chain, boasting market shares as excessive as 90-100% in segments of the advert tech chain,” he mentioned.

Vestager, who has fined Google greater than 8 billion euros ($9.2 billion) lately for anti-competitive practices in three circumstances, final 12 months launched the investigation into Google’s digital promoting enterprise. learn extra

Google mentioned publishers profit from its adtech providers.

“When publishers select to make use of our promoting providers, they maintain the vast majority of income and yearly we pay out billions of {dollars} on to the publishing companions in our advert community,” a Google spokesperson mentioned.

($1 = 0.8714 euros)

Reporting by Foo Yun Chee. Enhancing by Jane Merriman and David Evans

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