The Balanced Economy Project joins over 70 groups calling on the EU to reject Google's bid to retain its monopoly stranglehold on €120 billion adtech market

Over 70 press freedom groups, businesses, experts and think tanks including The Balanced Economy Project have written to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition Teresa Ribera, urging them to reject Google’s bid to retain its monopoly grip on Europe’s €120 billion adtech market. 

A healthy media sector is foundational to a healthy democracy, yet Google’s stranglehold on European journalism has been severe. Since 2008, since Google acquired adtech firm DoubleClick, Europe has lost 30% of its media jobs, giving rise to a vacuum being filled by fake news and toxic content.  

After well over a decade of enforcement efforts — from Shopping to Android to AdSense — behavioural remedies have consistently failed to rein in Google’s unjust dominance of European markets.  

As our letter points out, the DOJ has previously lamented that Google “will test every technicality, every punctuation mark” to evade behavioural remedies, which have not worked previously and will not work now.  

In the US, legal counsel for the Department of Justice has called for structural remedies against Google that will “terminate” the tech giant’s monopolies and “deny it the fruits of its unlawful conduct.”  

Similarly, Commissioner Ribera rightly pointed out the need for a structural remedy during her recent statement announcing Google’s breach of EU competition law, claiming the “only way for Google to end its conflict of interest effectively is with a structural remedy.”  

The Balanced Economy Project — as well as every other signatory to this letter — repeat our collective call for a structural solution at the soonest possible opportunity.  

“The health of European journalism and democracy is at stake…only divestment of Google’s adtech monopoly will safeguard Europe’s democracy, defend its sovereignty, and protect citizens and publishers from Google’s predations,” the letter adds.