Google is facing a formal antitrust complaint from the European Union regulators. The EU has accused Google of anti-competitive practices in the digital advertising business. Along with this, the company has been asked to sell some part of the advertising business. The European Union of 27 countries has led a global movement to crack down on Big Tech companies, including imposing fines. The EU has imposed three antitrust penalties on Google worth billions of euros.
The European Union Antitrust Chief Margrethe Vestager has said that Google should sell some part of its adtech business. Because they expect that a practical remedy to stop the anti-competitive practice is unlikely to be implemented. One of the reasons behind this decision of the EU is said to be that the union does not want any one company to have complete command in the advertising business. Let us tell you that before the commission issues its final decision, Google can defend itself by keeping its side.
Investigation going on from June 2021
The antitrust regulator started its investigation in June 2021. It’s been two years of the investigation into anti-competitive practices in the digital advertising business. For the first time after two years, the European Antitrust Regulator has issued a statement regarding this and made allegations. A report by research firm Insider Intelligence states that Google has a worldwide share of 28% in global ad revenue. Google has asked to present a concrete report on this soon. The company has called it baseless.