Google will have to pay an amen of 220 million euros inflicted by the Competition Authority in France for promoting its own services in the online advertising sector.

The Competition Authority was initially seized by three press groups, News Corp, Le Figaro and Rossel.

The French Competition Authority imposed a 220 million euro fine on Google for promoting its own services in the online advertising sector, she said in a statement on Monday. Google "did not dispute the facts" and the fine was decided in the context of a transaction procedure with the American giant, said the Competition Authority which had initially been seized by three press groups, News Corp, Le Figaro and Rossel.

The Figaro group then withdrew from the procedure.

"The Authority noted that Google has granted preferential treatment to its proprietary technologies offered under the Google Ad Manager brand," said the Authority.

"The practices in question are particularly serious because they have penalized Google's competitors in the SSP market (platforms on which publishers sell their advertising spaces, Editor's note) and publishers of sites and mobile applications", including especially press editors.

"A historic decision"

Beyond the financial sanction, Google has offered commitments aimed at resolving the problems highlighted by the Authority's investigation.

"This is a historic decision" because "it is the first decision in the world to examine the complex algorithmic auction processes by which online 'display' advertising works" "(which appears on the screens of Internet users). ), underlined the president of the Competition Authority, Isabelle de Silva, in a press conference.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, achieved $ 55.31 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2021, mostly through online advertising.

The company faces lawsuits from authorities in several countries on the competition law front.