Google made a big move in 2024. They offered to sell AdX, their ad marketplace. This was meant to end an EU investigation into their ad tech practices.
But European publishers didn’t think it was enough.
The EU started looking into Google’s ad tech business in 2023. The European Publishers Council had complained about it. They said Google was favoring its own ad services.
AdX is a place where publishers can sell leftover ad space to advertisers in real-time. It’s a key part of Google’s ad tech stack.
But it’s not the only part that publishers are worried about.
Publishers want Google to sell more than just AdX. They think Google has too much control over the whole ad tech process. This creates conflicts of interest, they say.
Google disagrees with the EU’s view of the ad tech world. They say it’s very competitive and always changing. But they’re still open to working on the issue.
The EU’s top antitrust official, Margrethe Vestager, had suggested Google might need to sell both AdX and DFP.
DFP is Google’s tool for publishers to manage their ads.
For now, the EU probably won’t make Google sell anything. Instead, they might just tell Google to stop doing things they think are unfair.
This could happen in the next few months.
If Google doesn’t follow the EU’s orders, they might have to sell parts of their business later. But that’s not certain yet.
Google makes a lot of money from ads. In 2023, they made $237.85 billion from ads. That’s 77% of all the money they made that year.
This isn’t the only place Google is facing questions about its ad business. In the U.S., they’re in court fighting claims that they should sell Ad Manager.
Ad Manager includes both AdX and DFP.
Google’s never offered to sell part of its business to end an antitrust case before. This shows how serious the EU investigation is.
The ad tech world is complex. It’s hard for regulators to figure out what’s fair and what’s not. That’s why they might start with smaller steps before asking Google to sell anything.
This case is part of a bigger trend. Big tech companies are facing more questions about how they do business. Regulators want to make sure these companies aren’t using their size to shut out competition.
For publishers, this case is really important. They rely on ad tech to make money from their content.
If one company controls too much of that process, it can affect their bottom line.
Google’s offer to sell AdX shows they’re willing to make big changes. But it also shows how valuable their ad tech business is. They don’t want to give up more than they have to.
The EU’s decision in this case could change how online ads work. It might lead to more competition in ad tech. Or it might just tweak how things work now.
For now, everyone’s waiting to see what the EU will do. Their decision could affect not just Google, but the whole online ad industry.
Image: ibphoto, depositphotos.com
