Turkey's competition board fines Google $74.4M

The Turkish Competition Board has decided to impose an administrative fine of 2.6 billion liras ($74.4M) on Google following an investigation into its advertising practices.

Saturday December 14 2024 01:22 am

Duvar English

The Turkish Competition Board has imposed a total fine of 2.61 billion Turkish liras ($74.4M) on Google Advertising, Google International, Google Ireland, and Alphabet following its investigation on advertising practices.

In a statement published on its website, the board noted that the investigation focused on allegations that the company violated the Law on the Protection of Competition in its online display advertising and ad technology services.

The investigation initially examined allegations that Google restricted the purchase of YouTube inventory exclusively through its own demand-side platforms (DSPs) and prevented the verification and measurement of YouTube ads through independent service providers, according to the authority’s statement.

The statement noted that Google favored its own products within the online advertising technology services where it operates as a vertically integrated entity.

It explained, "In this context, allegations that Google directed inventory purchase requests from its own DSPs to its own supply-side platforms (SSPs) and favored its SSP service (AdX) through its publisher ad server were also examined during the investigation. Accordingly, the effects of Google’s activities in the DSP and publisher ad server markets on competition in the SSP services market were addressed."

The statement highlighted that while Google holds a dominant position in the DSP market, no violation was found regarding claims that it directed inventory purchase requests from its own DSPs to its SSP services.

However, it was determined that Google, holding a dominant position in the publisher ad server market, unfairly advantaged its own SSP services. This self-preferencing behavior was deemed harmful to competitors.

As a result, Google was fined 2.6 billion Turkish lira. To restore competitive balance, Google must ensure within six months that third-party SSPs are offered terms no less favorable than those applied to its own services.

Topics Google Google fine Google ads Competition Board