European regulator to probe Google-Facebook advertising deal

According to Reuters, the European Commission was looking into a 2018 deal between the two internet giants called ‘Jedi Blue’, and whether it unfairly restricted competition in the space and prevented others from effectively operating.

UK authorities are already probing the deal, with European investigators saying they would work closely with their counterparts across the channel on the investigations.

“Via the so-called 'Jedi Blue' agreement between Google and Meta, a competing technology to Google's Open Bidding may have been targeted with the aim to weaken it and exclude it from the market for displaying ads on publisher websites and apps,” said European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager.

Google owner Alphabet and Facebook’s parent Meta had not commented on the new investigation as of Friday morning.

Across the pond, investigators in Texas and 15 other US states had also opened an antitrust complaint against Google, Reuters said.