French and EU Publishers File Damage Claims against Google for Abusing Market Dominance in Online Advertising
PARIS – Following sanctions levied against Google by the Competition Authority for alleged anticompetitive practices in the ad-tech space, HBSS France is representing several French and European publishers before the Court for Economic Activities of Paris (formerly the Commercial Court) seeking compensation for the damages suffered by the group of publishers.
In the Authority’s 21-D-11 decision issued June 7, 2021, the French Competition Authority fined Google €220 million for abusing its dominant position in the market for ad servers for online website and mobile application publishers. Google did not appeal this Decision which is now final and undertook to change some of illicit practices.
The Authority’s decision revealed that Google abused its dominant position by mutually favoring its advertising space sales platform (SSP), AdX, and its ad server DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) over its competitors. The decision states this behavior occurred since at least 2014 until at least September 2020, the date on which the Authority adopted its decision, but which doesn’t exclude the continuation of the practices or their lingering effects.
The Authority also revealed that Google reserved AdX requests to its ad server and that the tech giant granted it a “right of first look” and a “right of last look.” Thereby Google could preempt the best advertising impressions and advertising space at its will, barring rivals’ access and reducing publishers’ revenues. Furthermore, Google allegedly set excessive transaction commissions and restricted the interoperability of competing ad servers. This led to revenue losses for publishers of websites and apps financing their economic model wholly or partially through advertising, according to the Authority.
Several economists estimate the practices sanctioned by the Authority are likely to have caused damages amounting to several billions of euros, potentially tens or hundreds of millions, for each publisher, including publishers who were not customers of Google's ad server for all or part of the infringement period.
The French decision formally acknowledges and sanctions Google’s practices. Because Google failed to appeal the decision, it has been finalized. In France, publishers intending to claim compensation must file a lawsuit before June 6, 2026 to avoid time-barred restrictions.
On April 17, 2025, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema held Google liable for monopolizing the online advertising market through the same practices. While the ruling is under appeal, the case is ongoing and is not suspended by the appeal. A remedy trial is set to occur in 2025-2026.
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About HBSS France
HBSS France is a Paris-based group affiliated with the world-renowned American law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP. The Paris-based team is comprised of lawyers with expertise in competition and European regulations, deeply committed to defending media, technology companies, and agencies in their dealings with major digital platforms. The team, led by Fayrouze Masmi-Dazi, leverages its expertise, creative vision, and unconventional approach to law to effectively combat practices that are most detrimental to the economy, particularly the digital economy, and society in general (disinformation, regulatory asymmetries that harm the economy of cultural creation), and to foster competition through innovation and merit.
Contact
Fayrouze Masmi-Dazi
fayrouzemd@hbssfrance.com