Indian Trade Regulator Orders Probe In Google's Conduct In The AdTech Ecosystem

Google on Sunday said it is reviewing the Competition Commission of India (CCI) orders into its conduct in the online display advertising market.

The trade regulator ordered a thorough probe over a complaint filed by the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF). The CCI said it has decided to club the complaint with ongoing investigations in similar cases and directed the Director General (DG) to carry out a consolidated probe into Google's conduct in the AdTech ecosystem.

In a separate order, the CCI dismissed a complaint filed by ADIF against Google, concluding that the allegations raised were already examined and settled in previous cases. The regulator said it is not convinced by the reasons stated by ADIF for distinguishing its allegations from the issues examined in previous orders passed by the regulator.

"We are reviewing the CCI’s orders. We welcome the CCI’s decision to dismiss one part of the complaint,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

“We remain confident that our ongoing work with the CCI will affirm that Google's advertising practices have consistently benefited advertisers, publishers, and users, and are fully compliant with competition law,” the company added.

ADIF alleged in its complaint that Google has engaged in anti-competitive practices across various layers of its advertising technology stack.

ADIF further alleged that Google, through its multiple group entities, has engaged in anti-competitive conduct by self-preferencing its own services in the AdTech ecosystem, including tying and bundling of its publisher ad server (DFP) with its ad exchange (AdX), and linking access to YouTube ad inventory with the use of its demand-side platform (DV360).

The CCI said it was prima facie satisfied that Google's conduct warranted scrutiny under Section 4 of the Competition Act, which deals with abuse of dominant position.