The European Commission is investigating a four-year-old deal between Google and Facebook (Meta). The EU suspects the deal violates competition laws.
According to European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, the online ad deal between Google and Facebook may have unfairly limited advertisement options for customers such as publishes.
The 2018 deal, named Jedi Blue, is said to be a secret attack on an unspecified competitor of Google’s Open Bidding auction platform for online ads. Allegedly, the goal of the confidential collaboration was to weaken a competitor.
Google and Meta
Google holds a dominant position in the online ad market through the Google Open Bidding platform. Meta regularly participates in online ad auctions hosted by Google and its competitors. The cooperation between the Meta and Google allegedly created dominance for the Google Open Bidding platform.
UK regulator
The EC is not the only regulator taking action. The UK’s Competition Market Authority (CMA) is currently investigating the deal. The EC and the British regulator have agreed to keep each other informed. If Google and Facebook (Meta) are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour, they’re likely to land an enormous fine.
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