Google and Facebook would have agreed not to compete with each other in the field of advertising auctions. That would be one of the charges in an antitrust suit brought by ten US states.
Google and Facebook decided not to compete with each other on advertising platforms. That writes The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper bases itself on a draft version of a lawsuit that ten American states started against Google. In the indictment, the states speak of multiple practices that go against antitrust rules.
One of the most striking charges therein is the possible deal that Google and Facebook made on online advertising.
According to the paper, the two tech giants agreed that Facebook would not compete with Google’s auction platform to sell ads. In return, Facebook would receive lower rates for ads on Google’s platform. Internal Facebook documents would see the deal as favourable and cheaper than direct competition.
Both companies would also have known that such an agreement would put them in the crosshairs of antitrust authorities. Therefore, they agreed to work together and assist each other in any investigations into the deal.
Google tells the Wall Street Journal that such an antitrust deal is standard, and both companies deny the charges in the indictment. The charge is public but was heavily censored with black bars when published, a common occurrence in lawsuits that have not yet been ruled. The Wall Street Journal says it is based on an uncensored draft version.
