Google Fined $268 Million in France, Agrees to Changes in Advertising
2021-06-08
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1Google has agreed to make changes to its online advertising business in a settlement with the French government.
2The agreement, announced Monday, requires Google to pay a $268 million fine for abusing its "dominant position" in the online advertising market.
3The French Competition Authority said it had found that Google's ad management system for large publishers favored its own online ad marketplace, AdX, over competitors.
4AdX is a tool used by publishers to sell advertising space.
5French officials said AdX is built to work more effectively with the service Google Ad Manager than with other ad placement providers.
6Google did not dispute the findings and said it had agreed to make changes to its advertising business as part of the settlement.
7The company promised to improve the way its Ad Manager services work with competing online advertising systems.
8It also said it had agreed to make it easier for publishers to use its data and tools.
9A company statement said Google "will be testing and developing these changes over the coming months" before launching them widely.
10The head of the French Competition Authority, Isabelle de Silva, said it was "the first decision in the world" to center on Google's complex ad serving system.
11The system uses algorithms to decide which ads users are shown.
12Google's ad systems had hurt competition in the online marketplace and permitted the company "not only to maintain, but also to increase its dominant position," de Silva said.
13The settlement "will make it possible to re-establish a level playing field for all players, and the ability for publishers to make the most of their advertising space," de Silva added.
14The investigation began after three media groups -- U.S.-based News Corp., French newspaper group Le Figaro and Belgium press group Rossel -- launched a complaint against Google in 2019.
15French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire welcomed the decision.
16He said Google systems that help its own ad technologies hurt press groups that depend heavily on online adverting income.
17"These are serious practices and they have been rightly sanctioned," Le Maire said.
18Major technology companies have been facing increasing attention in Europe and other places over their business methods.
19Germany also launched an investigation of Google.
20The German government said last week it was examining whether contracts for news publishers using a Google licensing system included "unreasonable conditions."
21The European Union has accused Apple of blocking competition in online music sales.
22It also has accused Amazon of using information from independent businesses to unfairly compete against them with its own products.
23In addition to that, the EU is looking into Google's advertising systems and methods.
24I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Google has agreed to make changes to its online advertising business in a settlement with the French government. 2The agreement, announced Monday, requires Google to pay a $268 million fine for abusing its "dominant position" in the online advertising market. 3The French Competition Authority said it had found that Google's ad management system for large publishers favored its own online ad marketplace, AdX, over competitors. AdX is a tool used by publishers to sell advertising space. French officials said AdX is built to work more effectively with the service Google Ad Manager than with other ad placement providers. 4Google did not dispute the findings and said it had agreed to make changes to its advertising business as part of the settlement. 5The company promised to improve the way its Ad Manager services work with competing online advertising systems. It also said it had agreed to make it easier for publishers to use its data and tools. A company statement said Google "will be testing and developing these changes over the coming months" before launching them widely. 6The head of the French Competition Authority, Isabelle de Silva, said it was "the first decision in the world" to center on Google's complex ad serving system. The system uses algorithms to decide which ads users are shown. 7Google's ad systems had hurt competition in the online marketplace and permitted the company "not only to maintain, but also to increase its dominant position," de Silva said. 8The settlement "will make it possible to re-establish a level playing field for all players, and the ability for publishers to make the most of their advertising space," de Silva added. 9The investigation began after three media groups -- U.S.-based News Corp., French newspaper group Le Figaro and Belgium press group Rossel -- launched a complaint against Google in 2019. 10French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire welcomed the decision. He said Google systems that help its own ad technologies hurt press groups that depend heavily on online adverting income. "These are serious practices and they have been rightly sanctioned," Le Maire said. 11Major technology companies have been facing increasing attention in Europe and other places over their business methods. Germany also launched an investigation of Google. 12The German government said last week it was examining whether contracts for news publishers using a Google licensing system included "unreasonable conditions." 13The European Union has accused Apple of blocking competition in online music sales. It also has accused Amazon of using information from independent businesses to unfairly compete against them with its own products. In addition to that, the EU is looking into Google's advertising systems and methods. 14I'm Bryan Lynn. 15The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 16We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 17__________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19dominant - adj. the main or most important part of something 20management - n. the way in which something is carried out and controlled 21algorithm - n. a set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process 22maintain - v. to make a situation or activity continue in the same way 23complaint - n. a statement that something is wrong or unacceptable 24sanction - n. a punishment for not obeying a rule or law 25license - v. to give someone officials permission to do or have something