Google’s regulatory issues are growing across the pond.
The UK competition watchdog said on Friday it had launched an investigation into the search giant’s proposals to remove third-party cookies and other features from its Chrome web browser, following concerns that the move could affect digital advertising rivals .
The Competition and Markets Authority will consider whether Google’s changes would channel more advertising spending into its own ecosystem to the detriment of its competitors.
Google is also facing a trio of antitrust lawsuits at home in the United States and has been accused of maintaining monopolies through “multiple forms of anti-competitive conduct in general search and search advertising markets.”
Google’s technology, called the “Privacy Sandbox” project, would allow users to be targeted with ads without following anyone on the web. The watchdog has received complaints from a coalition of technology and publishing companies accusing Google of “abusing its dominant position” in the industry.
“As CMA found in its recent market study, Google Sandbox’s privacy proposals will have a significant impact on publishers such as newspapers and the digital advertising market,” said CMA chief Andrea Coscelli.
Cookies allow advertisers to target consumers with personalized ads and allow newspapers and other sites to provide their content for free.
“[Google] it could undermine publishers’ ability to generate revenue and undermine competition in digital advertising, strengthening Google’s market power, ”Coscelli added.
Other browsers, including Apple’s Firefox and Safari, have already blocked third-party cookies, and Google claims to make the change to protect consumer privacy.
“Creating a more private web, while allowing publishers and advertisers to accept the free and open internet, requires the industry to make major changes in the way digital advertising works,” said a Google spokeswoman.
“We welcome CMA’s involvement as we work to develop new proposals to support a healthy, ad-free, third-party cookie-free web.”
The CMA said it would cooperate with the British data surveillance investigation.
Google shares were fixed at trading on Friday morning.
The investigation comes two months after a group of 165 companies and industry bodies called on EU antitrust authorities to take action against the search giant, accusing it of using its dominance in the market to favor its own search services. on the web.