The logos of Facebook and Google apps displayed on a tablet.
Denis Charlet | AFP via Getty Images
Regulators in the EU and U.K. have opened antitrust probes into Google and Meta, formerly Facebook, over the tech giants’ 2018 ad deal.
The parallel probes, announced Friday, will look at whether the so-called “Jedi Blue” agreement between the two companies hampered competition in markets for online display advertising services. Online display ads are graphic ads that appear on websites, mobile apps and social media.
Andrea Coscelli, CEO of the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority, said in a statement: “We’re concerned that Google may have teamed up with Meta to put obstacles in the way of competitors who provide important online display advertising services to publishers.”
“If one company has as stranglehold over a certain area, it can make it hard for start-ups and smaller businesses…
