Google fined $75 million for violating competition laws in Turkey

Google is in the middle of another antitrust battle. Turkey's competition watchdog has fined the search giant 2.61 billion lira ($75 million) for violating the competition law and abusing its dominant position in the ad server market.

According to the competition authority, the Alphabet-owned company made its competitors harder to operate by favouring its own supply-side platform (SSP) over third parties. For reference, an SSP is a software-based platform publishers use to manage and sell ad inventories.

The company has been given six months to offer third-party SSPs conditions similar to its own services and ensure its competitors are not disadvantaged. Google told Reuters it plans to appeal the Turkish competition authority's fine.

"The Turkish authority decision does not take into account the intense competition where ad buyers and sellers have plenty of choice," a Google spokesperson said in an email.

Google's latest legal trouble comes not long after the Indian competition watchdog started an investigation against the company over its gaming app policy. Canada's Competition Bureau is also after the Alphabet subsidiary, alleging anti-competitive conduct and abuse of dominance in the online advertising space.

It was reported that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to force Google to spin off its search business to curb its monopoly. In a separate case, the DOJ accused the company of violating antitrust laws over its online ad business, dominating online ad sales through acquisitions, and allegedly influencing online ad tools and putting hurdles for how customers can use its ad tools.

Outside the US, Italy's AGCM started investigating Google over misleading consent requests and potential drawbacks of the consent process. However, not every story has been dark for Google. The search giant overturned a €1.49 billion ($1.66 billion) fine previously imposed by the European Commission in 2019 over its digital ad market practices.

Source: Reuters

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