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Google is facing a major lawsuit in Europe from 32 media companies challenging its digital advertising practices.
Media companies including Axel Springer and Schibsted allege that Google’s “uncompetitive” tactics have caused them to lose market position, significantly reduce their revenues and pay excessive fees for ad tech services. ing. They are seeking damages of 2.1 billion euros.
The lawsuit, which involved publishers from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain and Sweden, was filed yesterday and was filed by European law firm Geladin. It is being raised by Partners and Amsterdam. A company based in Stek.
Damien Geradin, founding partner of Geradin Partners, said: “Enough time has been spent getting to the heart of Google’s misconduct in ad tech, and it’s now clear for all to see.” .
“The time has come for Google to take responsibility for its wrongdoings and compensate the victims, Europe’s diverse and important media sector.”
The move follows continued concerns in Europe about Google’s advertising practices. For example, in 2021, the French competition authority CNIL found that Google had abused its dominant position in ad tech by favoring its own tools over those of its competitors. The company was fined 220 million euros.
This was followed by a letter from the European Commission to Google last year suggesting that the company’s actions distort competition and violate EU antitrust laws. Preliminary findings show that the company favors its own ad exchange, AdX, in ad selection auctions conducted by the dominant publisher ad server DFP. For example, he informed AdX in advance of the highest bid from a competitor in order to win the auction. You also primarily bid on AdX, which makes it the most attractive ad exchange.
“Our initial concern was that Google may have used its market position to favor its own intermediary services. This would hurt the interests of Google’s competitors as well as publishers. Not only is this possible, but it can also increase costs for advertisers,” said Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager. Person in charge of competition policy at the time. “If confirmed, Google’s actions would be illegal under our competition rules.”
Meanwhile, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority identified serious issues in the ad tech sector in 2020, and announced in May 2022 that it had launched an antitrust investigation into Google’s conduct, and that the investigation is still ongoing.
Similar concerns are being investigated in the United States by state attorneys general, particularly Texas, and the Justice Department launched its own civil suit against the company in January last year. Both cases are still ongoing.
“Many publishers have been harmed by Google’s illegal actions,” said Jan Bart van de Heer, a partner at Stek in Amsterdam.
“It is important that we take action not only to ensure that publishers are fully compensated for their damages, but also to ensure that Google’s anti-competitive behavior is prevented in the future. I am glad that you have decided to take this step.” Take action. Others should do the same. ”
Google has been contacted for comment.
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