Overview
- A Feb. 9 Commission letter to market participants warns Google may be artificially raising the clearing price in search ad auctions to advertisers’ detriment.
- Officials are collecting information from advertisers, publishers, and competitors about Google’s role across online ad markets, with responses due by March 2.
- The Commission says no formal investigation is underway, though evidence of anticompetitive conduct could trigger proceedings and penalties of up to 10% of global sales.
- Google says prices are set by real-time auctions based on competition and ad quality and argues its search ads support small businesses.
- The outreach follows years of EU actions against Google and parallels U.S. allegations and a 2025 court finding of monopoly power in parts of online advertising, with Bloomberg first reporting the inquiry.