Antitrust "mountainous pressure"! Google proposed to sell part of its advertising business, but European publishers are not buying it
Google proposed to sell its advertising exchange platform AdX to end the EU antitrust investigation, but was rejected by European publishers who felt the proposal was not sufficient. Google's advertising technology business is under scrutiny by the EU for allegedly favoring its own services. Despite Google spokesperson's claim that the accusations are based on misinterpretation, the EU antitrust commissioner suggested divesting DFP and AdX to resolve conflicts of interest. However, due to the complexity of the case, the likelihood of forced divestiture of assets is low
According to the information obtained by Zhitong Finance APP, two informed sources said on Wednesday that Alphabet (GOOGL.US)'s Google has taken an important step this year to end the European Union's antitrust investigation by proposing to sell its advertising trading platform AdX. However, European publishers rejected the proposal, believing it was not sufficient.
Last year, after a complaint from the European Publishers Council, Google's lucrative advertising technology business came under scrutiny by EU regulators.
The European Commission subsequently accused Google of favoring its own advertising services, marking the fourth lawsuit the Commission has brought against Google.
According to three lawyers involved in antitrust cases, Google has never before proposed selling assets in an antitrust case.
Meanwhile, Google is facing trial in the United States. US antitrust authorities are trying to force Google to sell its ad manager product, including AdX and the publisher ad server DFP.
Sources said that publishers rejected Google's proposal because they want Google to divest not only AdX, but also to address the conflicts of interest arising from the company's near penetration into various levels of the advertising technology supply chain. They stated that EU antitrust enforcement agencies are aware of this proposal.
A Google spokesperson said, "As we have said before, the European Commission's allegations against our third-party display advertising products are based on a misunderstanding of the advertising technology industry, which is highly competitive and rapidly evolving. We remain committed to this business."
It is reported that AdX is a platform where publishers can offer their unsold advertising space in real-time for advertisers to purchase.
European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager suggested last year that Google divest its seller tools DFP and AdX to end conflicts of interest.
However, other sources indicated that due to the complexity of the case, the European Commission is currently unlikely to compel Google to divest assets, and may instead order it to cease anti-competitive practices in the coming months.
They stated that if Google does not comply with the Commission's first decision expected in the coming months, a divestiture order may follow.
Google's advertising revenue in 2023 (including search services, Gmail, Google Play, Google Maps, YouTube, Google Ad Manager, AdMob, and AdSense) totaled $237.85 billion, accounting for 77% of total revenue. The company is a dominant global digital advertising platform