Google is being split up in the EU, these are the consequences for you
Breakdown: Europe thinks that could make Google less powerful. It, like the United States, wants to break up Google in the hopes of promoting competition. This mainly concerns the departments that deal with advertising auctions. But, does that affect you, and if so, how?
Split Google
Bloomberg writes that the European Commissioner thinks that splitting up is the only way to ensure that competition can exist at Google. According to the EU, Alphabet would always favor its own Google services over competitors such as other tech companies, advertisers and people who run websites. It looks at Google Ads, AdExchange and DoubleClick, all of which you encounter when you as a consumer go to Google’s search engine or to an internet site.
Google ads – These are the blocks that appear above the search results in which a site is often advertised (recognizable by the word ‘Ad’ before it).
AdExchange – This allows publishers to place ads manually. This way they have more say over the ads than when AdSense, another advertising platform from Google, is in control. It also allows publishers to choose which advertiser to sell a location on their site to.
DoubleClick – With this, publishers determine how often an advertisement is shown.
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EU vs Google
Since these things are all related to Google, it is also Google that makes a lot of money from it. Too much, in the opinion of the EU. And the United States too: the Ministry of Justice there has already said that it wants to split up Google and now ‘we’ are following suit. As a user of Android devices, you may not immediately see what can influence this, but if you do use the Google search engine, you may notice after such a split that more space should be made within Android for other advertisers. A bit like there is also more space for other search engines besides Google on your Android (something you set when you install your phone).
What the exact consequences will be will only become clear once it becomes clear whether and how Google should split up. But we expect that we as users will also get something from it.
What do you think: should Google split up and do you think that will make a difference? Leave it now in the comments.
