Google – laptop – Photo by Firmbee on Pixabay
(BRUSSELS) – The EU opened a formal antitrust investigation Friday into whether an agreement between Google and Meta (formerly Facebook) for online display advertising services may have breached EU competition rules.
Google provides advertising technology services that intermediate between advertisers and publishers by real time auctioning of online display advertising space on web sites or mobile apps, including through its ‘Open Bidding programme’. Meta provides online display advertising services and, through its ‘Meta Audience Network’, participates in auctions for third party publishers’ advertising space using Google’s and rivals’ advertising technology services.
The Commission investigation concerns a September 2018 agreement, which Google code-named “Jedi Blue”, between Google and Meta for the participation of Meta’s Audience Network in Google’s Open Bidding programme. The Commission is concerned that the agreement may form part of efforts to exclude ad tech services competing with Google’s Open Bidding programme, and therefore restrict or distort competition in markets for online display advertising, to the detriment of publishers, and ultimately consumers.
If proven, the Commission says the practices under investigation may breach EU competition rules on anticompetitive agreements between companies (Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’)) and/or the abuse of a dominant position (Article 102 TFEU).
The EU executive will now carry out its in-depth investigation as a matter of priority. It stresses that the opening of a formal investigation does not prejudge its outcome.
The UK’s Competition Market Authority (‘CMA’) has launched its own investigation into the agreement between Google and Meta. As customary, the Commission has been in contact with the CMA and intends to closely cooperate on this investigation following the applicable rules and procedures.
More information on this investigation will be available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under the case number AT.40774.
