Google is in the middle of another antitrust legal battle. Turkey’s competition watchdog fined the search giant 2.61 billion lira (about $75 million) for violating competition laws and abusing its dominant position in the ad server market.
The Alphabet-owned company has made it difficult for rivals to operate by favoring its own supply-side platform (SSP), a software-based platform used by publishers to manage and sell ad inventory, according to the competition authority.
The company was required to offer third-party SSPs similar conditions to its own services within six months and ensure its competitors were not disadvantaged. Google told Reuters it planned to appeal the fine from Türkiye's competition authority.
"The Turkish authorities' decision does not take into account the fierce competition in which ad buyers and sellers have many choices," a Google spokesperson said in an email.
Google's latest legal troubles come shortly after India's competition watchdog began an investigation into its gaming app policies. Canada's Competition Bureau is also investigating the Alphabet unit, accusing it of anti-competitive conduct and abuse of dominance in online advertising.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly plans to force Google to spin off its search business to curb its monopoly. In a separate case, the Justice Department accused Google of violating antitrust laws in its online advertising business by dominating online ad sales through acquisitions and allegedly influencing online advertising tools by creating obstacles to how customers use its advertising tools.
Outside the U.S., Italy's AGCM began investigating Google's misleading consent requests and potential flaws in its consent process, after the search giant overturned a previous €1.49 billion ($1.66 billion) fine imposed by the European Commission in 2019 on its conduct in the digital advertising market.