Google and Facebook Face Tougher Rules in the UK Over Ad Dominance

According to Reuters, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) delivered a mixed bag of news for Google and Facebook.

On the one hand, the CMA indicated a reluctance to subject the two tech companies to more in-depth investigations, saying that ‘big’ did not necessarily equal ‘bad.’ On the other hand, the agency did indicate more regulation was in order to prevent abuses, especially given how much the two companies dominate the UK online ad market.

The CMA found that “Google earned more than 90% of all revenue for search advertising in Britain in 2018, with revenue of about 6 billion pounds, and Facebook accounted for almost half of all display advertising last year.”

Facebook indicated it was “fully committed” to working with the CMA and touted its tools to give people control over their data.

“We agree with the CMA that people should have control over their data and transparency around how it is used,” according to a company spokesman.

Of course, in the U.S., Facebook just admitted to senators that it continues to track individuals even if they have location tracking turned off and uses that information to sell ads. In view of that, it would seem the CMA’s concerns about more regulation being required is well-founded.