The Competition Authority has launched a new investigation into Google’s online advertising activities. The Authority announced that it has launched a formal investigation process to investigate whether Google abused its market power through the “Performance Max” (PMAX) campaign model.
The Competition Authority has launched an investigation into Google
The focus of the investigation is whether Google combined data from different platforms to prevent competition in the advertising market and whether it restricted advertisers with unfair practices.
The Authority is particularly focused on the possibility that PMAX campaigns could combine Google’s channels such as Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps and the Display Network into a single ad campaign, turning cross-platform data power into a one-sided advantage.
The PMAX campaign model, announced in 2021, allows advertisers to reach all digital channels owned by Google through a single campaign. However, this approach; According to the Competition Authority’s assessment, Google may turn into a structure that can limit competition by further strengthening its current data accumulation.
In this context, the Authority will examine whether Google has carried its dominance in search ads to other service areas and whether it has engaged in exploitative practices against advertisers in the process.
The investigation is being conducted within the scope of Article 6 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition. This article prohibits the abuse of dominant position. It is stated that the investigation has the potential to affect both the domestic and global digital advertising sector.
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