June 14, (THEWILL) – The European Commission, on Wednesday, accused Google of abusing its dominance of the online ad market.
The allegation followed two years of anti-trust probe of the US company by the Commission.
While the Commission has recommended Google sell part of its ad services to ensure fair competition, it also invited the company to respond to its preliminary findings.
Vice President of the Commission, Margrethe Vestager, who chaired the anti-trust probe, said: “We are concerned that Google may have illegally distorted competition in the online advertising industry, also known as ad tech.”
She said the Commission had not yet made a final conclusion on the case and was awaiting Google’s response.
“It is quite rare that we ask for a divestiture, and we have not asked for it yet,” Vestager said.
Meanwhile, Google has issued an immediate statement in response to the allegation.
Vice President for Global Ads, Dan Taylor, said “We disagree” with the Commission’s announcement “and we will respond accordingly”.
Taylor said Google was determined to “create value” for advertisers in a “highly competitive” market, adding that “the Commission’s investigation focuses on a narrow aspect of our advertising business.”
