Tag: Google
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EU probes Google’s ad tech business
Another day, another antitrust investigation into Google’s ad tech business. This time the probe was launched by the European Commission (the “Commission”), which has already fined Google three times for engaging in anticompetitive conduct. As readers of this blog are probably aware, Google’s practices in ad tech have captured considerable regulatory attention: the French Autorité…
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Major new market study into mobile ecosystems
Following on from the announcement of a new antitrust investigation into Facebook (and indeed a Financial Times report that an Amazon case is imminent), the CMA has launched an ambitious market study into mobile ecosystems. The CMA already has ongoing investigations into Google’s Privacy Sandbox and Apple’s approach to in-app purchasing; it has established the…
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CMA publishes commitments offered by Google with respect to its Privacy Sandbox proposals, seeks comments
Last Friday the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) published a 93-page long notice of intention to accept commitments offered by Google in relation to its Privacy Sandbox proposals, inviting all interested parties to submit their observations. By way of reminder, the CMA launched an investigation back in January 2021 into Google’s removal of third-party…
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Google fined € 220 million by French Autorité de la concurrence for breaching competition law in ad tech; offers commitments
Yesterday, the French competition authority (“Autorité de la concurrence”) handed down a landmark decision finding that Google has breached Article 102 TFEU and the equivalent provision of French competition law through anticompetitive conduct in ad tech. The Autorité imposed on Google a fine of €220 million and rendered binding a series of commitments (“engagements”) proposed…
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The latest around Google and the Privacy Sandbox
On Monday the US State AGs filed an amended complaint against Google with respect to ad tech, joined by five additional States. (Reminder: the State AGs sued Google in December 2020, arguing that the tech company has engaged in anticompetitive conduct and even entered into an unlawful agreement with Facebook to restrict competition in the…
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Unpacking Google’s latest blog post on web tracking
Yesterday Google published a blog post regarding its approach to web tracking once third-party cookies are phased out in Chrome. The post was the talk of the day all over Twitter and the mainstream press, and certain commentators even suggested that Google has pledged to stop selling ads based on individual web browsing (a monumental…
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ACCC finds lack of competition in ad tech affects publishers, advertisers, and consumers
Australia has turned into one of the key regulatory battlefields for Big Tech – see for example the ongoing acrimonious fight over the news media code, with Google and Facebook threatening to pull out of the country if the proposed code enters into force. In the meantime, following up on its Digital Platforms Inquiry (report…
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CMA opens investigation into Google’s Privacy Sandbox browser changes
The Competition and Markets Authority has just announced it will investigate Google’s decision to remove third-party cookies from its Chrome browser in early 2022 and replace them with a set of proposals known as the Privacy Sandbox (NB: Google has justified this decision on privacy). The investigation – under Chapter II of the Competition Act…
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Texas, other US States sue Google for anti-competitive conduct and collusion with Facebook
Last Wednesday, on 16 December 2020, Texas and nine other US States filed an antitrust lawsuit before the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas with respect to Google’s conduct in ad tech (reminder: almost two months earlier the Department of Justice sued Google with respect to its practices in general search; click here…
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New paper on Chrome and the Privacy Sandbox
In an earlier post discussing the fate of targeted advertising, I noted that much of the current debate centers around issues of competition and privacy, and the inevitable trade-offs between them. While personalized advertising promises benefits for publishers and advertisers (and in theory users that value relevant ads), it is under increasing pressure from privacy…