EC Launches Antitrust Probe of Google Ad Tech Services

Google may be favoring its own online display advertising tech services over those of rivals in violation of EU antitrust law, the European Commission said Tuesday. It launched a probe (case AT.40670) focused on whether the company distorts competition by restricting third-party access to user data for ads on websites and apps while keeping the data for its own use. EU display ads were about $24 billion in 2019, the EC said. The investigation will examine whether online display ad buyers on YouTube must use Google's Display & Video and/or Google Ads services and whether they must use Google Ad Manager to serve display ads on YouTube. It will examine the company's announced plans to bar placement of third-party cookies on Chrome and replace them with "Privacy Sandbox" tools, plus its decision to stop making the advertiser identifier available to third parties on Android smart mobile devices when a user opts out of personalized ads. Google said it will continue to engage with the EC, and its ad tech fees are lower than reported industry averages.