The French competition authority will carry out a preliminary examination to look into the concerns raised by stakeholders into practices within the online advertising sector. This will determine whether it is necessary to initiate one or more investigations to assess if these practices are in breach of competition law.
The decision follows a broad consultation of market stakeholders, which started over a year ago. The findings, looking specifically at "display" advertising, have now been made public by the competition watchdog. In particular, they highlight several significant competitive advantages that Google and Facebook have in this sector, including their vertical integration and very powerful targeting capabilities.
The preliminary examination will investigate the specific issues raised by some of the weaker stakeholders in the chain, such as technical intermediaries, and will probe the least transparent elements within the sector. The watchdog has summarised the areas of concern into five main groups, starting with the so-called practice of bundling or tied sales.
