Google, Meta face EU, UK probes into ad bidding agreement

By RAF CASERT and KELVIN CHAN
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — British and European regulators have threatened to crack down on an agreement between Google and Facebook parent Meta for online display advertising services, saying the deal may breach the bloc’s rules on fair competition. The EU’s competition watchdog opened a probe into a 2018 ad bidding pact between Google and Facebook. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said the deal may be part of an effort to exclude ad tech services that compete with Google’s Open Bidding program — which would harm publishers and consumers. Google said the allegations are false and Facebook said it was a non-exclusive agreement that increases competition.