Bullet points of Google faces provisional antitrust charges in UK for ‘self-preferencing’ its ad exchange

Bullet points of Google faces provisional antitrust charges in UK for ‘self-preferencing’ its ad exchange
- The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) suspects Google of antitrust abuses in the adtech sector, accusing the company of self-preferencing its own ad exchange at the expense of customers and rivals.
- The CMA believes Google's practices could be harming thousands of UK publishers and advertisers who rely on its adtech to bid for and sell advertising space.
- Google dominates the adtech stack, playing a powerful intermediary role in three key parts of the chain, including ad buying tools, a publisher ad server, and an ad exchange.
- The CMA has provisionally found that Google has abused its dominant positions by applying self-preferencing tactics across different links of the chain, harming competition in the market.
- The regulator has also provisionally found Google's abusive conduct ongoing and is considering what may be required to ensure the company ceases the anti-competitive practices in the future.
- The European Union is also investigating Google's adtech and has warned that if the company is found to have broken the bloc's competition laws, the only viable solution would be to break up its adtech business.
- Google has rejected the CMA's findings, stating that its advertising technology tools help websites and apps fund their content and enable businesses to reach new customers, and that the company remains committed to creating value for its publisher and advertiser partners.