Duyurular

The Turkish Competition Authority Concludes Its Advertising Investigation Against Google

The investigation initiated by the Competition Board (“Board”) to determine whether the economic entity (“Google”), consisting of Google Reklamcılık ve Pazarlama Ltd. Şti., Google International LLC, Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited, and Alphabet Inc., violated Article 6 of the Act No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Act No. 4054”) in the provision of online display advertising and online advertising technology services has been concluded with the Board’s decision dated 12.12.2024 and numbered 24-53/1180-509 (“Decision”).

According to the Decision;

  • The investigation focuses on claims that Google is using its control in the online advertising market to give an unfair advantage to its own products and services. Google operates both demand-side platforms (“DSP”) and supply-side platforms (“SSP”). It is alleged that Google directs advertisers to purchase ads through its own SSP instead of allowing them to use competing platforms. Additionally it is claimed that Google uses its ad server  -a system that decides which ads to display- to prioritize its own SSP service (“AdX”) over those of its competitors. The investigation aims to determine if these practices harm competition in the SSP market by making it more difficult for rival companies to compete.
  • The Decision addresses the impact of Google's activities in the DSP and publisher ad server markets on competition in the SSP services market.
  • The economic entity under Google holds a dominant position in DSP services market. However with respect to the allegation that Google used its dominance in the DSP services market to direct inventory purchase requests from its own DSPs to its own SSP services, no violation of Article 6 of the Act No. 4054 was identified.
  • The economic entity under investigation Google holds a dominant position in the publisher ad server services market. By exploiting its dominance, Google has granted an unfair advantage to its own SSP service. This self-preferencing practice restricts competitors' activities and violates Article 6 of the Act No. 4054.
  • Therefore an administrative fine of 2,607,563,963.59 TL has been imposed on Google.
  • Within six (6) months following the notification of the reasoned decision, Google must provide third-party SSPs with conditions that are no less favorable than those applied to its own services.

You can access the full text of the Decision here.

 

Kind regards,

Zumbul Attorneys-at-Law

info@zumbul.av.tr