UK watchdog slams Google digital advertising

LONDON — Google was slammed by a British regulator Friday, saying the company was using its dominance in digital advertising to stifle competition in Britain, escalating pressure the tech giant faces over its “ad tech” business practices from both sides of the Atlantic. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority said the US company was prioritising its own services, causing losses to online publishers and advertisers in the UK's £1.8 billion digital advertising market. The allegations, made after an investigation, could lead to billions of dollars in fines or orders to change its behaviour. Google is a major player across the digital advertising ecosystem, providing publishers with servers to manage ad space on their websites and apps. It is also a tool for advertisers and media agencies to buy display ads, and an exchange where both parties come together to buy and sell ads in real time through auctions. “In our interim findings, Google is using its market power to block competition when it comes to the ads people see on websites,” the watchdog's interim executive director, Juliette Enser, said in a press release. FILE – The Google logo at its offices in Granary Square, London, Nov. 1, 2018. (Alastair Grant/AP) …