Watchdog says Google 'hinders competition'

GOOGLE stands accused by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of engaging in "anti-competitive practices" that have potentially hurt a multitude of publishers and advertisers.

- JON ROBINSON

The CMA has provisionally concluded that the American tech behemoth might be adversely affecting its competition within the open-display advertising technology market.

The authority's investigation pointed out that the majority of publishers and advertisers depend on Google's ad tech services for bidding and selling digital ad space.

Google's alleged practices of favouring its own services using its dominant market position are concerning according to the CMA, which claims such actions prevent fair competition, creating disadvantages for rivals, and hinder them from offering superior services that could benefit businesses commercially.