The owner of the Daily Mail newspaper and the MailOnline website is suing Google for search engine results manipulation.
Associated Newspapers accuses Google of being too controlling in the online advertising and reducing links to its content, preferring other stories and outlets.
What Are The Allegations On Google?
It claims that Google “punishes” publishers at if they do not sell enough advertising space in its markets.
Google has called the claims “invalid”.
The Associated Newspapers concern is based on its assessment that its coverage of the Royal Family in 2021 has been reduced in search results.
For example, it says British users seeking broadcaster Piers Morgan’s views on the Duchess of Sussex after an interview with Oprah Winfrey may have seen articles about Morgan produced by small, regional organizations.
That is despite the Daily Mail writing multiple stories a day about his comments around that time and employing him as a columnist.
‘Time To Call The Company Out’
The editor of the Daily Mail, Peter Wright, told the BBC’s Today that the actions of the search-engine giant were anti-competitive.
He suggested that the Daily Mail’s search visibility dropped after using online advertising techniques “which were allowing us to divert advertising traffic away from Google to other ad exchanges, which paid better prices – and this was their punishment”.
“We think it’s time to call the company out,” he said.
The Daily Mail’s MailOnline is one of the most widely read websites in the world. It has 75 million visitors arriving monthly in the US alone, according to the lawsuit, filed in New York on Tuesday.
Untrue Claims
A Google spokesman said: “The Daily Mail claims are completely untrue.
“Use of our ad technology tools does not affect how the publisher’s website is ranked in Google search.
“More generally, we compete in a crowded and competitive ad tech space where publishers have and exercise multiple options. The Daily Mail itself authorises dozens of ad tech companies to sell and manage their ad space, including Amazon, Verizon and more. We will defend ourselves against these meritless claims.”
Separately, Google is facing allegations of dishonesty brought by the US Department of Justice and attorneys general in many provinces.
The tech giant has denied abusing its power in the market and has previously claimed that the advertising technology market is competitive.
