Google is self-preferencing in ad marketplaces, CMA says in provisional findings

The news: The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally found that Google is “self-preferencing” its own ad exchange.

• The regulator’s initial findings determined that Google is using its market power to edge out competitors when it comes to which ads consumers see on websites.
• It stated that Google’s anticompetitive moves include overcharging advertisers and publishers and rigging online advertising bids to favor its own ad exchange.

Google objected to the CMA’s findings and said the regulator’s case relies on "flawed interpretations of the ad tech sector.”