Business
France slams $268m fine on Google for unfair ads treatment
French government has slammed a 220 million Euros ($268 million) fine on Google for abusing its “dominant” position in online advertising.
The fine comes as Google reportedly pushed publishers to use its platforms for selling adverts while unfairly punishing rival platforms.
The French anti-trust watchdog claimed the search engine giants used a range of tactics which included charging ”opaque and variable commission fees.”
After it was proved guilty, Google agreed to pay the fine and end some of its practices.
According to the French agency, Google gave preferential treatment to its DFP advertising server which allowed publishers of sites and applications to sell their advertising space and its SSP AdX listing platform.
READ ALSO: Google lifts ban on cryptocurrency adverts
Three media groups – Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, French newspaper Le Figaro, and Belgium’s Groupe Rossel had reported the unfair advert deals to the French authorities.
The Legal Director of Google France, Maria Gomri, who spoke on the development, said the company would effect changes where necessary as it looks to make changes to its advertising technology.”
He said: “We recognize the role that ad tech plays in supporting access to content and information and we are committed to working collaboratively with regulators and investing in new products and technologies that give publishers more choices and better results when using our platforms.”
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