All Sections

View and post jobs in journalism
  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Comment/Analysis
  • Editor's Pick
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Broadcast Journalism
    • Digital Journalism
    • Magazines
    • Media Law
    • National Newspapers
    • People
      • Appointments
      • Obituaries
    • Regional Newspapers
  • Press Gazette Podcast
  • British Journalism Awards
  • Press Gazette Email Newsletter

In the news

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • About us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • RSS
Close
[mashshare]
Skip to content
  • About us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • RSS
All sections

Search

Search pressgazette.co.uk

Close

Press Gazette

Subscribe to our email newsletter Journalism email newsletter
  • News
  • Comment
  • Data
  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Marketing
  • Awards
  • Jobs

Menu

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • National Newspapers
  • Regional Newspapers
  • Digital Journalism
  • Broadcast Journalism
  • Media Law
  • Magazines
  • Wires and Agencies
  • Obituaries
  • News
  • Comment/Analysis
  • Jobs
  • British Journalism Awards

In the news

  • Platforms
  • Publishers
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
Close
BBC sets date for Andrew Neil to quiz Conservative leadership rivals Johnson and Hunt
Young journalist grandfather course Young journalist graduates from university course set up by his ex-features writer grandfather
July 4, 2019
  • Digital Journalism
  •    
  • Media Law
  •    
  • News
  •    
  • Social media
  •    

UK competition watchdog launches study into ad market dominance of Google and Facebook

By Charlotte Tobitt Twitter

Share this

  • Tweet
  • Share 0
  • Reddit
Comments
1

The UK competition watchdog has opened an investigation into the dominance of Facebook and Google in the digital advertising market and is inviting submissions on the issue.

The Competition and Markets Authority will look at whether competition in the digital advertising market is “distorted” by the tech giants.

Timeline

  • January 13, 2021

    Interview: New York Times explains the in-house adtech it is using to prepare for the death of third-party cookies

  • September 21, 2020

    Media in developing countries helped to diversify after ad revenue 'destruction' of up to 85%

  • September 10, 2020

    Content suggestion platforms Taboola and Outbrain cancel merger

It said the study will look at “the sources of any market power, the way they collect and use personal data, and whether competition in digital advertising is producing good outcomes for consumers”.

CMA chairman Andrew Tyrie said: “Much about these fast-changing markets is a closed book to most people.

“The work we do will open them up to greater scrutiny, and should give Parliament and the public a better grip on what global online platforms are doing.”

The CMA study follows the Cairncross Review into the sustainability of the UK news industry which called for the watchdog to take a closer look at the digital ad market and identify whether it is working and what remedies, if any, are needed.

The Furman Report into digital competition also urged a review of the ad market, which was backed by Chancellor Philip Hammond. He said the CMA’s “expertise and information gathering powers make it uniquely placed to shine a light on this sector”.

Press Gazette launched its Duopoly campaign, calling on Facebook and Google to stop destroying journalism and pay more to publishers, in April 2017.

The CMA study will focus on both search and display advertising, which the watchdog said are dominated by Google and Facebook respectively and which “make up by far the largest proportion of UK advertising expenditure”.

In its statement of scope for the study, the CMA said: “We propose to examine the extent to which platforms’ market power might distort competition in digital advertising, as well as concerns around transparency and conflicts of interest in the intermediation of advertising.

“This is a highly-complicated market and the focus of our work in this theme will be on investigating those concerns that are most likely to lead to bad outcomes for consumers.”

The dominance of certain platforms “could limit entry and competition from other providers, harming consumers by reducing choice and innovation over time,” it went on.

The CMA study will not examine the Duopoly’s effect on the sustainability of journalism in the UK, which was the remit of the Cairncross Review.

“However, we anticipate that aspects of our work will help inform this debate, notably our assessment of the share of advertising revenues that go to content providers as opposed to intermediaries,” the CMA said.

The News Media Association, which represents national, regional and local news organisations in the UK, called the CMA’s announcement a “very welcome development”.

“For years, the tech giants have been exploiting news media publishers’ content online while contributing next to nothing back into journalism, and it is now time for this to be urgently corrected.”

If the watchdog finds evidence to back up its concerns, it could pursue interventions to improve “transparency and oversight for digital advertisers and content providers”.

It could also limit large platforms’ ability to exercise market power by creating a new regulatory regime, give consumers better protection and transparency over how their data is being used, and increase competition through data mobility, open standards and open data to reduce barriers to entry and promote new business models.

The CMA is now calling for representations, including whether it should launch a full market investigation, to be made by 30 July.

It said it will publish its market study report setting out its findings and any proposed actions by 2 July next year.

Picture: Pixabay

SIGN UP HERE FOR

MEDIA MONITOR

Press Gazette's weekly email providing strategic insight into the future of the media

Subscribe

Related Stories

  • July readership figures for world's biggest news websites: Mail Online and Fox News make up ground on 'broadsheet' rivals
  • UK competition watchdog calls for action as Facebook and Google take 80% of £14bn annual digital ad spend
  • Covid-19 prompts record digital audience for UK national press with 6.6m extra daily readers
  • Mail publisher urges CMA to take ‘decisive action’ on Duopoly’s ad market dominance or news industry 'won't survive'

Explore these topics

  • Advertising
  • Duopoly
  • Facebook
  • Google
Browse, search and add journalism jobs
Comments

1 thought on “UK competition watchdog launches study into ad market dominance of Google and Facebook”

  1. resugite says:
    July 10, 2019 at 6:25 am

    My Boy pal makes $seventy five/hour on net. he has been job less for six months. However he earns$16453 genuinely working at the internet for some hours. Immediately from the source……………….99kitty.com

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More content

Post a job on Press Gazette

Most Popular

  1. PA wins High Court injunction against union issuing 'fake' press passes to 'citizen journalists'
  2. The new Trump bump: How Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy and far-right outlets are taking on Fox News
  3. Regional print journalist Liz Bates takes Channel 4 News political correspondent role
  4. GB News launch: Why advertisers are positive about new anchor-led news channel for UK
  5. Cash for conspiracies: How David Icke, 'alternative' media and tech giants make money from coronavirus conspiracies

Latest Jobs

  • Editor in Chief, Scottish Sun
  • Features Producer, Economist Radio
  • Editor, The Richard III Society
Young journalist graduates from university course set up by his ex-features writer grandfather

© copyright 2021 Press Gazette Ltd. Made in Taiwan.