On May 27, The Wall Street Journal reported that Google was nearing a settlement with French regulators in an antitrust case that claims the tech giant has abused its power in the online advertising industry. Australian regulators are also investigating the ways that Google’s dominance in online advertising is hurting news publishers and consumers alike, noting that the monopoly Google holds in the industry leaves publishers with little room to negotiate the sharing of advertising revenues. There are also ongoing investigations in both the United Kingdom and the European Union into how recent changes to Google’s online advertising platform have strengthened their grip on the industry at the expense of a competitive marketplace. In the United States, Google faces a lawsuit from the owners of the Daily Mail, who allege that Search rankings are based on how much ad revenue the publishers create for Google. Additionally, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, along with nine other states’ Attorneys General, filed suit against Google alleging abuses of power by the company in stifling competition in the digital ad market. Read more here.
Members of the News/Media Alliance staff have contributed to this post.
