Google must compensate several French media groups after a decision by the Paris Economic Activities Tribunal for anti-competitive practices in online advertising.
On Monday June 29, the Paris Economic Activities Court ordered Google to pay 126 million euros in damages to several French media groups for anti-competitive practices in online advertising. This decision concerns Prisma Media, which obtains 61 million euros, Le Figaro 26 million, Les Echos-Le Parisien 11.5 million, and the video platform Dailymotion 27.5 million. Between them, they initially demanded 570 million euros.
Google is accused of having favored its own online advertising sales platform when allocating advertising space, to the detriment of its competitors. The American giant has not yet decided whether it will appeal these four decisions, a spokesperson said. “We contest the court’s decisions. These claims for damages are based on erroneous interpretations of the adtech sector (advertising technology, editor’s note), which is a highly competitive and rapidly evolving industry,” added the Google representative.
According to Marc Feuillée, general manager of the Le Figaro group, cited by mind Media, “with the previous decisions rendered in favor of Rossel, L’Equipe and M6, a case law is now established”. The M6 group obtained nearly 23 million euros in damages from Google in March.
In June 2021, the Competition Authority sanctioned Google to the tune of 220 million euros for the same reason. Likewise, the European Commission imposed a fine of 2.95 billion euros on the American company last September. The Commission’s decision was criticized by American President Donald Trump, against a backdrop of tensions over European regulation of American technology giants.
