Australia takes on Google’s online ad dominance, calls for data shakeout
Australia’s antitrust watchdog said it wants the power to curb Google’s use of internet data to sell targeted ads, saying the Big Tech firm dominated the market to the point of harming publishers, advertisers and consumers.
The comments, in a report published Tuesday, set up another possible showdown between Australia and Google months after the Alphabet Inc unit vowed to pull core services from the country over a new content licensing law.
It may also spur along an anti-monopoly lawsuit reportedly being prepared by the U.S. justice department accusing Google of using its market muscle to hobble advertising rivals. European regulators are also scrutinising Google’s advertising business.