Recently, sources stated that Google could be charged with antitrust violations by the EU over its advertisement technology business as early as next year, putting the company at risk of receiving its fourth fine in the EU of more than a billion euros.
The largest revenue generator for Google last year was its ad business, which brought in over $100 billion in revenue. The European Commission opened an investigation into Google’s Adtech business in June of last year, concerned that the American tech giant might be gaining an unfair advantage over competitors and advertisers.
According to one of the sources, the business has attempted to reach a settlement and avoid a 4 billion euro fine, but the concessions have only been minor and very preliminary. EU antitrust fines against Google have totalled more than 8 billion euros ($7.7 billion) over the past ten years.
Although the timing may change, the charges are expected to be brought by the EU competition enforcer early next year, one of the people said. The European Commission declined to comment. Google, the world’s leading seller of online advertising, well ahead of Facebook and Instagram owner Meta Platforms Inc, had no immediate comment.
Following the news, LitFin has started working with the affected media houses and publishers across Europe to provide them with an opportunity to claim compensation in the Google AdTech case.
If you are one of the companies that have been affected by the anticompetitive practices of Google, contact us at pardo@litfin.cz to set up a meeting.