Google offers to sell Ad Exchange to end EU antitrust investigation, but is rejected

Google, the leader in search and online advertising, is facing multiple ongoing investigations and lawsuits from various government agencies for alleged antitrust violations, and has proposed selling its advertising marketplace , Ad Exchange (AdX), to end the EU antitrust investigation, Reuters reported.

Exclusive: Google offered to sell part of ad tech business, not enough for EU publishers, sources say | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-offered-sell-advertising-marketplace-adx-eu-antitrust-probe-sources-say-2024-09-18/

Report: Google offered to sell AdX to end EU antitrust suit
https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/report-google-offered-to-sell-adx-to-end-eu-antitrust-suit-203612819.html

When you hear the name Google, many people may think of search engines, web browsers, and smartphones, but in fact, most of their revenue comes from online advertising . In 2008, Google acquired Double Click, which was involved in online advertising delivery infrastructure, and used that technology as a foothold to build a large-scale ad exchange .

An ad exchange is a platform that makes it easy to buy and sell ad space across multiple ad networks. This allows publishers who want to sell ad space and advertisers who want to place ads to auction ad space in real time. Google's AdX is also a type of ad exchange.

By combining AdX with DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) , a server that delivers ads to ad slots on websites, Google has become a powerful force in the online advertising industry. However, Google's advertising ecosystem is suspected of violating antitrust laws and is under investigation by government agencies in the United States , EU, and other countries.

In June 2023, the European Commission, the EU's policy enforcement body, announced its view that 'Google is suspected of distorting competition in the ad tech industry and violating antitrust laws,' and warned that it may order Google to sell its advertising business to resolve competition concerns.

European Commission warns Google against 'forced sale' of advertising business in preliminary antitrust investigation - GIGAZINE

In September 2020, Reuters reported that Google had proposed to sell its ad marketplace AdX in 2024 to end the EU antitrust investigation. However, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, EU ad publishers rejected the proposal. This is said to be the first time that Google has proposed selling assets in relation to an antitrust lawsuit.

The publishers rejected Google's proposal because they argued that Google's presence across the entire ad tech supply chain meant that they needed to sell off other businesses in addition to AdX to address conflicts of interest. It has been reported that the EU antitrust enforcement agency was also aware of Google's proposal.

A Google spokesman told Reuters: 'As we have said previously, the European Commission's case against our third-party display advertising products is based on a flawed interpretation of the highly competitive and rapidly evolving ad tech sector. We remain fully committed to this business.'

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager suggested in 2023 that Google should sell both AdX and DFP to eliminate its ad tech conflicts of interest. But at the time of writing, the European Commission was unlikely to order Google to sell its assets, and could order it to stop anti-competitive behaviour in the coming months, other sources told Reuters.