French Connection
Google is close to settling an antitrust case in France. The company stands accused of, wait for it, abusing its power in online advertising. The settlement will likely include a fine and require Google to make some operational changes, The Wall Street Journal reports. The case, brought by France’s Competition Authority, treds familiar ground. The difference is that we could see some real action as a result. Specifically, Google stands accused of allowing its DoubleClick for Publishers ad server to preference AdX and give Google an advantage against other auction operators. In 2018, DFP and AdX were merged to create Google Ad Manager. Google will not admit (or deny) any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. The remedy, rather, would be for Google to improve the interoperability of AdX with independent ad servers. Sounds great – although it should be noted that the proposed changes would be binding only in France. Even so, it’s possible that Google could implement them more broadly in order to preempt other antitrust actions. Google is facing antitrust lawsuits in the US, the UK and the EU.