EU Opens Fresh Probe Into Google's Ad Auction Practices
European regulators are investigating whether Google artificially inflated ad auction prices to squeeze advertisers.
Google's European legal headaches just got worse. The EU has launched a new investigation into the tech giant over allegations it manipulated ad auction clearing prices.
The probe centers on whether Google "artificially increased" what advertisers pay in its ad auctions. Regulators suspect the company rigged the system to extract more money from advertisers — a classic squeeze play.
This isn't Google's first rodeo with EU antitrust enforcers. The company has already been slapped with billions of euros in fines across multiple cases. Now Brussels is circling back to advertising, the engine that powers Google's empire.
If investigators find wrongdoing, Google could face yet another massive penalty. The company's ad business has long drawn scrutiny for its dominance and opacity. This probe suggests regulators aren't done picking apart how that machine actually works.