Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Facebook and Google 'too powerful' says watchdog boss

Facebook and Google 'too powerful' says watchdog boss

Tech giants Google and Facebook have too great a share of the UK online advertising market, the boss of the UK's competition watchdog has said.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would like regulatory changes to deal with that market dominance, its boss Andrea Coscelli told the BBC.

Google and Facebook have faced criticism from competition and other regulators in the past.

Facebook said it faces "significant competition" online from rival firms.

Google has also been approached for comment by the BBC.

When questioned by the BBC's media editor Amol Rajan, Mr Coscelli said that the two tech giants have a "duopoly" in the UK when it comes to digital advertising, which can often be bad for competition.

Google and Facebook have about an 80% share of the UK's £14bn digital advertising market, which is "not an ideal situation", Mr Coscelli said.

"We think it would be good if we got to a situation where others had a bigger share of the market," he said.

He also described the fact that Google holds about 90% of the UK's £7.3bn search advertising market as a "problem".

Facebook currently has a more than 50% share of the £5.5bn display advertising market in the UK, which is too much, Mr Coscelli said.

"When companies have too much economic power, that creates a number of distortions, first for competitors, secondly for consumers, and at some level potentially in terms of the political process as well, in some cases," he said.

"We, in general terms, like to see markets more competitive, with more players, with more diversity of players, because we think that delivers better outcomes."

A Facebook spokesman said its platform "gives millions of people and businesses in the UK the opportunity to connect and share."

He added: "Advertisers can and do freely move their [advertising] spending between TV, radio, print, outdoor and online.

"And in online advertising itself, we face significant competition from the likes of Google, Apple, Snap, Twitter and Amazon, as well as new entrants like TikTok, which keeps us on our toes."

Increasing scrutiny


Mr Coscelli stopped short of saying that Facebook and Google should be broken up.

"Our current proposal is not to break them up, it's to have pro-competitive regulation to deal with some of the issues, but it would allow the companies to maintain all the current activities that they have," he said.

The CMA said in December it plans to issue Facebook, Google and the other tech giants a set of rules customised to each firm to rein in "anti-competitive behaviour" and give consumers "more control over how their data used".

It is set to create a Digital Markets Unit within itself to draw up the rules and govern compliance, although legislation is required which may not be introduced until 2022.

Silicon Valley firms have recently faced increasing scrutiny from other regulatory bodies around the world.

Before the UK's exit from the European Union, competition regulation for global or pan-European companies was done through Brussels.

Google has been hit with a number of competition fines by the European Commission over the years, including a €1.49bn (£1.28bn) fine in 2019 for blocking rival online search advertisers.

Facebook is also facing competition action in the United States from federal regulators and more than 45 state prosecutors who are accusing the social media company of taking illegal action to buy up rivals and stifle competition.


The Competition and Markets Authority would like regulatory changes to deal with the 'imbalance of power'


Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×