France fines Google $166 million for anti-competitive behavior

France's Competition Authority has fined Google 150 million euros ($166.4 million) for anti-competitive behavior, as well as having unclear advertising rules on Google Ads. 

Besides paying the fine, the FCA expects Google to clarify the rules for Google Ads, as well as the procedure for suspending accounts on the platform.

"The French Competition Authority considers that the Google Ads operating rules imposed by Google on advertisers are established and applied under non-objective, non-transparent and discriminatory conditions," the FCA explained in a press release. 

"The opacity and lack of objectivity of these rules make it very difficult for advertisers to apply them, while Google has all the discretion to modify its interpretation of the rules in a way that is difficult to predict, and decide accordingly whether the sites comply with them or not." Read more...