Google is proposing to simplify the use of its advertising technology for publishers and advertisers, despite demands from EU antitrust regulators who have urged the company to sell part of its business to eliminate conflicts of interest. About this reports Reuters.
EU regulators point out that Google controls the tools used by advertisers and publishers, as well as the advertising exchange AdX, which is central to this process.
The European Commission, which acts as the EU’s antitrust regulator, fined Google €2.95 billion in September for favoring its own advertising services, which reinforced AdX’s dominance.
The commission said such behavior harms competitors, advertisers and publishers, and gave the company until November to submit proposals to address conflicts of interest in the ad technology supply chain, including by offering to sell part of the business.
On November 14, Google announced that it had submitted its proposal to the European Commission. The company said it broadly resembles a proposal submitted as part of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into a similar issue.
“Our proposal fully complies with the EC decision without a disruptive break-up that would harm thousands of European publishers and advertisers who use Google tools to grow their businesses,”— the company’s statement says.
Additionally, Google has proposed improving the interoperability between its tools to give publishers and advertisers more choice and flexibility.
