EU Commission investigates Meta and Google for online advertising
The Facebook group Meta and Google are suspected of distorting competition in online advertising. The EU Commission is investigating the two companies.
An agreement between the two companies could be aimed at excluding competitors, said Margrethe Vestager, the EU Commissioner responsible for competition, on Friday. Google rejected the suspicion.
Cooperation between Google and Meta weakens competition
Google and Meta are essentially competitors in the online advertising market. However, following an agreement in 2018, Facebook also participates in auctions for advertising space on a Google platform.
Google, for example, uses the Open Bidding system to auction online advertising space on websites or in apps in real time. Facebook's Audience Network platform takes part in this.
The Commission fears that the cooperation could weaken competing technologies and exclude them from the market for display advertising. So-called display advertising includes, for example, classic banners that are displayed on websites, but also pop-ups or other graphic advertising elements on websites.
Google defends itself against the accusations
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also announced that investigations had been launched against Google and Meta on suspicion of distorting competition. "We are concerned that Google may have colluded with Meta to hinder competitors who provide operators with important services for displaying advertising on the internet," said CMA head Andrea Coscelli.
A Google spokesperson replied that the claims about the agreement were false. Facebook's Audience Network will not receive any benefits that would help the service to win auctions. Instead, the deal would strengthen competition.
In the US, several states are already taking legal action against the deal. Among other things, they are claiming that Facebook has stifled the development of its own competing platform with the agreement. (SDA)
