Competition law — 16/10/2019
‘Trust Me, I’m Fair’: Analysing Google’s Latest Practices in Ad Tech From the Perspective of EU Competition Law
In a first paper released in January 2019, we explained the mechanics of online display advertising and real-time bidding with a focus on the tools and technologies comprising the ad tech market. We identified Google as the leading, and most likely dominant player across the ad tech value chain and expressed the concern that it engages in prima facie anticompetitive conduct, in that it uses its leading ad server to favor its ad intermediation business and exclude competitors. We also explained how the lack of competition across the ad tech value chain enables Google to exploit advertisers and publishers by charging hidden fees for ad intermediation on top of its disclosed commissions. In March 2019, Google announced that it would switch to a first-price unified auction by the end of 2019, arguing that its move would help create a fair and transparent market for everyone. Meanwhile, online advertising has attracted significant regulatory interest in the EU, the USA and Australia.
Read the full paper here.
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Announcements — 09/12/2025
Sanna Syrjälä joins Geradin Partners as Senior Counsel on 1 February 2026 – bringing unmatched merger control, antitrust and enforcement expertise
Geradin Partners is proud to announce that Sanna Syrjälä, one of Finland’s most respected and experienced competition law enforcers, will join the firm as Senior… Continue
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Awards and recognition — 04/12/2025
Geradin Partners ranked in Global Competition Review across 4 jurisdictions
Geradin Partners, the specialist competition, regulatory and litigation firm, was recognised in the Global Competition Review’s “GCR 100” rankings for four of the jurisdictions in… Continue
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Announcements — 28/11/2025
UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal greenlights multi-billion pound collective action against Amazon over anticompetitive conduct targeting third-party sellers
LONDON, UK. 28 November 2025 The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) has approved a multibillion-pound collective action against Amazon to proceed to trial. A judgment handed down… Continue