The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has called for more powers to deal with competition issues identified in online platforms, such as Google, that carry advertising.
Chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims said an ACCC inquiry into the advertising technology, or ‘ad tech’, sector had identified significant competition concerns and likely harm to publishers, advertisers and, ultimately, consumers.
Mr Sims said the ACCC’s Digital advertising services inquiry: Final Report (August 2021) had concluded that enforcement action under Australia’s existing competition laws alone was not sufficient to address the competition issues in the sector.
He said the ACCC should be given powers to develop specific rules in response.
“Ad tech services facilitate complex transactions for the selling and buying of advertising space on websites or apps, resulting in the ads that are displayed to consumers,” Mr Sims said.
“The Report finds that Google has a dominant position in key parts of the ad tech supply chain and estimates that more than 90 per cent of ad impressions traded via the ad tech supply chain passed through at least one Google service in 2020.”
He said Google’s dominance in this area was underpinned by multiple factors, including its access to consumer and other data, access to exclusive inventory, and integration across its ad tech services.
“Key acquisitions by Google, including DoubleClick in 2007, AdMob in 2009, as well as YouTube in 2006, have helped Google entrench its position in ad tech,” Mr Sims said.
“Google has used its vertically integrated position to operate its ad tech services in a way that has, over time, led to a less competitive ad tech industry,” he said.
“This conduct has helped Google to establish and entrench its dominant position in the ad tech supply chain.”
Mr Sims said the ACCC was considering specific allegations against Google under existing competition laws, however, new regulatory solutions were needed to address Google’s dominance and to restore competition to the ad tech sector for the benefit of businesses and consumers.
He said the ACCC recommended rules be considered to manage conflicts of interest, prevent anti-competitive self-preferencing and ensure rival ad tech providers could compete on their merits.
The ACCC’s 197-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
