European
Union
antitrust
regulators
may
order
Google
to
sell
a
part
of
its
advertising-technology
business,
a
source
with
direct
knowledge
of
the
matter
told
Reuters.
The
EU’s
top
antitrust
watchdog,
the
European
Commission,
could
issue
a
formal
complaint
against
Google
as
early
as
Wednesday,
the
source
said,
further
intensifying
trans-Atlantic
efforts
to
diminish
the
tech
giant’s
dominance
in
digital
ads.
In
2022,
the
Commission
launched
an
investigation
into
Google’s
sweeping
presence
at
almost
all
levels
of
the
supply
chain
for
online
display
advertising,
expressing
concern
about
its
dominant
position.
Break-up
orders
from
the
EU
competition
enforcer
are
rare.
However,
frustration
has
been
mounting
after
Google
failed
to
address
competition
concerns,
the
source
said.
The
Commission
and
Google
did
not
immediately
respond
to
Reuters’
requests
for
comment.
Google
is
the
most
dominant
digital
advertising
platform
in
the
world
with
a
28
percent
market
share
of
global
ad
revenue,
according
to
research
firm
Insider
Intelligence.
First-quarter
ad
sales
at
Google-owner
Alphabet
slipped
from
a
year
earlier
to
US$54.55
billion
($80.82
billion),
but
beat
what
analysts
were
expecting.
The
Google
parent’s
total
revenue
during
the
period
stood
at
US$69.79
billion.
Google’s
dominance
in
online
advertising
has
been
increasingly
questioned
over
the
past
few
years.
Complaints
from
rivals
about
its
allegedly
anti-competitive
practices
have
led
to
antitrust
investigations
in
multiple
continents
concerning
its
practices.
Earlier
this
year,
the
United
States
launched
an
ad
tech
lawsuit
against
Google
demanding
the
sale
of
its
ad
manager
suite,
and
had
argued
that
the
search
giant
illegally
abused
its
dominance
of
online
advertising.
Google
has
denied
any
wrongdoing.
The
EU’s
likely
move
was
first
reported
by
the
Wall
Street
Journal.
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