In a recent development, the UK's competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has raised objections to the ad tech practices of Google by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG). The tech giant's dominance in the online display advertising market has come under scrutiny.
What Happened: The CMA issued a statement of objections against Google's ad tech practices on Friday, CNBC reported on Friday.
The regulator provisionally found that Google's practices are impacting competition in the U.K. It alleged that Google is using its dominance in online display advertising to favor its own ad tech services.
The CMA noted that the "vast majority" of U.K.'s publishers and advertisers use Google's technology to bid for and sell ad space. It expressed concerns over Google's "self-preferencing" of services, which it believes is preventing competitors from competing on a level playing field.
Google has yet to respond to Benzinga's queries.
Why It Matters: This is not the first time Google's practices have come under regulatory scrutiny in the UK. In April, the privacy watchdog raised alarms over Google's digital privacy initiative.
Furthermore, in July, Google had to reverse its plan to eliminate cookies in its Chrome browser due to industry and regulatory pushback.
Price Action: At the time of writing, during the Friday pre-market hours, the shares of Alphabet's Class A Common Stock GOOGL was trading 0.64% lower, while its Class C Capital Stock GOOG was down by 0.69%, according to Benzinga Pro.