Google has been fined for abusing its dominant position in online advertising

The investigation was launched following a complaint from News Corp., the French group Le Figaro and the Belgian company Rossel La Voix. Google has reportedly preferred its own AdX service to that of competitors in buying and selling advertising space on the Internet. Clients who tried to place ads on websites or mobile applications using competing platforms often found that they had to pay more than Google clients.

Google plans to change its practices in the coming months

Google did not dispute the allegations and decided to change its practices. Maria France Legal Director Maria Gomri said on Monday that the company had been working with the French supervisory authority for the past two years on changes, particularly with regard to the Google Ad Manager platform. She also said that the changes adopted during the negotiations would “make it easier for portals to use Google’s data and tools with other advertising platforms.” The changes will be tested in the coming months and then applied publicly, some of them globally.

The fine given to Google and its commitment to change its practices “will re-establish a level playing field for all players and give portals the best possible use of their advertising space,” said Isabelle de Silva, head of the office.

This isn’t the first time Google has been fined

Just last month, Google was fined for preventing Enel X Italia from developing its own Android Auto application. An investigation against the American company was also recently launched by Germany, which decided to check the News Showcase licensing platform for “unfair terms”.