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Online advertising: a fine of 220 million euros for Google

It is imposed by the French Competition Authority. The American giant Google has taken advantage of its dominant position to “bias” the bids on the online advertising market.

The French Competition Authority has just imposed a hefty fine on Google. The digital giant will have to pay 220 million euros for unfair commercial practices in online advertising.

On the Internet, part of the advertisements are purchased in real time on the basis of auctions which take place on an automated platform. But Google took advantage of its vertical integration to skew the process and gain undue advantage, explains Isabelle de Silva, president of the Competition Authority. Google’s advertising space sales platform could thus be aware of the prices charged by its rivals thanks to its advertising servers located at publishers, and offer a more attractive price, she explained.

“Historic decision”

The investigation was conducted after a complaint filed by three publishers: the American News Corp, the Belgian Rossel and Le Figaro who then withdrew. The president of the Competition Authority talks about a historic decision. It dismantles the way in which Google and more broadly the major digital platforms take advantage of their dominant position to build algorithms which, until now, were out of control.

In a market where they take the lion’s share and weaken the media, a first breach has just been opened. Because Google will have to change practices. We will test and develop these changes in the coming months before rolling them out more widely, including some on a global scale, announces Maria Gomri, legal director of Google France.

This decision is part of a context marked by the counter-offensive of the European authorities to try to better supervise the American digital giants. This is the meaning of the next Digital Services Act directive. It is essential to apply our competition rules to the digital giants who operate in our territory, reacted Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy.