European Union antitrust regulators may order Alphabet’s Google to sell an element of its advertising-technology business, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday.
Google’s dominance in internet advertising has been increasingly questioned over the past few years. Complaints from rivals about its allegedly anti-competitive practices have led to antitrust investigations in multiple continents concerning its practices.
The European Commission, which launched an investigation into Google’s ad-tech business in 2022, said at the moment that it was concerned about Google’s presence at just about all levels of the availability chain for online display promoting.
Break-up orders from the EU competition enforcer are rare. Nonetheless, frustration has been mounting after Google failed to handle competition concerns, the source said.
Google’s dominance in internet advertising has been increasingly questioned over the past few years. Above, CEO Sundar Pichai.REUTERS
Frustration has been mounting after Google failed to handle European Union competition concerns.REUTERS
The Commission and Google didn’t immediately reply to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
