Publishers to Get More Pricing Control Under Google’s New Ad Manager Reforms

Just a day after the European Commission launched a new digital competition investigation, Google announced major changes to its advertising services on Friday. A Google spokesperson said, "Our proposal fully resolves this decision without disruptive disintermediation. This will harm thousands of European publishers and advertisers who use Google tools to grow their businesses."

However, the company said it still disagrees with the European Union's (EU) decision and plans to appeal the fine. Google's move comes two months after Brussels imposed a 2.95 billion euro anti-competitive fine on the company for allegedly giving preferential treatment to its own advertising services.

Google's new plan includes immediate product changes. These include giving publishers the option to set different minimum prices for different bidders on Google Ad Manager. The company also said it would improve the interoperability of its tools for publishers and advertisers to address EU concerns about conflicts of interest. Google is also facing scrutiny in the US.

Berlin. In a major blow to Google, a German court has ordered it to pay ₹542 crore in damages to German price-comparison platform Idealo. The court found that Google abused its market position. Idealo had alleged that Google gained an unfair advantage in the price-comparison services market between 2008 and 2023.