Alphabet’s Google said that the European Union’s threat to break up its profitable ad tech arm was “flawed” as it formally took aim at the bloc’s allegations of anticompetitive conduct.
EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said in June that the only way to restore competition in the sector was for Google to be forced to spin off its ad tech business, after a formal EU investigation had unearthed allegations of foul play.
Google has now attacked those allegations, in a formal response to the antitrust watchdogs this week. Google slammed the EU’s findings as resting on “flawed interpretations of the ad tech sector.”
“While we continue our constructive conversations with the Commission, we are opposing the call for divestment, as we don’t believe it is proportionate nor the right solution for our partners,” Dan, vice president for Global Ads at Google, said.
Google had earlier indicated its intentions to oppose the EU’s findings in an informal letter.
Google has been in the EU’s cross hairs for years. Vestager’s team has fined Google €8.3 billion ($8.9 billion) in total, including for abuses of its dominance on its mobile operating system and its display advertising
