Google made a defense to the Competition Board
Google Advertising and Marketing Ltd. The oral defense meeting regarding the investigation into the economic integrity of Şti., Google International LLC, Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited and Alphabet Inc. was held at the Competition Authority under the chairmanship of Competition Board Chairman Birol Küle.
Küle reminded that the investigation was opened upon the allegation that the company violated the Law on the Protection of Competition with binding and self-serving behavior regarding its online display advertising and advertising technology services activities.
The representative of the investigation committee stated that 4 allegations were examined during the investigation and reminded that the commitments made by the company regarding the two allegations were found to be sufficient and the investigation was terminated in terms of these allegations in May.
Stating that the investigation is continuing within the scope of the other two allegations, the representative stated that Google is dominant in the “demand side platforms” (DSP) and publisher ad server services market.
The representative stated that the company used its dominant position in the market to provide an unfair advantage to its own service, and that this act of self-nepotism made it difficult for competitors’ activities. In this way, the representative requested an administrative fine on the grounds that the company violated the law and stated that the company should be obliged to end the violation in question and ensure effective competition in the market.
“WE ARE NOT IN A DOMINANT SITUATION”
The Google representative who spoke at the meeting argued that they were not dominant in the market.
Representatives of various organizations attended the oral defense meeting as third parties.
The representative of the Consumer Union Federation claimed that the company in question was in a dominant position and that there was a violation within the scope of the law, and stated that competition was prevented in determining advertising prices.
Representatives of the media organizations attending the meeting stated that Google did not explain in detail the algorithms it used in its search engine, and explained that sometimes their news appeared in the lower ranks, sometimes they did not appear at all, and their number of views decreased. The representatives requested that administrative fines be imposed on the company.
The Board will announce its final decision regarding the investigation within 15 days. If the decision is taken sooner, it will be announced on the institution’s website.