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Entrance to the Google office in Paris (archive image)
Photo: POOL / REUTERS
The French competition authority accuses Google of having abused its dominant position in the market for ad servers. The US company did not deny the allegations, a fine of 220 million euros has now been ordered as part of a settlement, the authority announced in Paris on Monday. Google offered appropriate changes that were accepted by the authority. "We will test these changes in the coming months and develop them further before we roll them out on a broader basis, in some cases worldwide," said Google.
The cartel office had been called by several publishing groups, including the News Corp of the media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch and the French "Figaro" publishing house. It was found that "Google has given its own technologies, which are offered under the Google Ad Manager brand, preferential treatment," the competition authority said. These practices are "particularly serious" because there are also press publishers among the disadvantaged, whose economic model has been seriously weakened anyway by the decline in newspaper subscriptions.
The publishers concerned were disadvantaged, for example, in the market for so-called supply-side platforms (SSPs). It is an interface between website providers and advertisers. The French competition authority reminded that companies with a position like Google have a special responsibility. Its "very serious practices" would have enabled Google "not only to maintain its dominant position, but to expand," said Isabelle de Silva, chairman of the French competition authority, according to the announcement.
"We believe that we offer valuable services and that we are competitive," said Google.
“Nevertheless, we aim to work proactively with the regulatory authorities to make improvements to our products.” They have worked with the French authority for the past two years and now want to improve access to data or increase the flexibility of Google Ad Manager.
pbe / dpa / AFP
