The publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper and the MailOnline website has filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging that the search engine tampers with search results.
Associated Newspapers also accuse Google of exercising so much influence over internet advertisements and downgrading access to its articles in favor of other publications.
It claims that if publishers don’t sell enough advertising space in Google’s marketplace, it “punishes” them in its rankings.
The arguments were labeled “meritless” by Google.
According to Associated Newspapers’ appraisal, the Royal Family’s coverage in 2021 has been downplayed in search results.
It says, for example, that British consumers looking for presenter Piers Morgan’s comments on the Duchess of Sussex during an interview with Oprah Winfrey were more likely to come across stories about Morgan written by smaller, regional publications.
Despite the fact that the Daily Mail published several articles a day about his comments at the time and hired him as a journalist, he was ignored.
According to Daily Mail editor emeritus Peter Wright, the suspected behavior of the search engine was “anti-competitive,” who spoke to the BBC’s Today programme.
He said that the Daily Mail’s search exposure suffered as a result of its use of online advertisement tactics. “And this was their retribution for allowing us to divert advertisement traffic away from Google to other ad exchanges, which charged better rates.”
“We think it’s time to call this company out,” he said.
The MailOnline website of the Daily Mail is one of the most used websites in the world. According to the complaint filed in New York on Tuesday, it has 75 million direct monthly users in the United States alone.
Meritless claims’
A Google spokeswoman said:
“The Daily Mail’s claims are completely inaccurate.”
“Where a publisher’s website rates in Google search have little impact on how our ad tech resources are used.”
“More broadly, we compete in a crowded and dynamic ad tech space, where publishers have and use a variety of choices.” The Daily Mail allows hundreds of ad tech firms, including Amazon, Verizon, and others, to sell and maintain their ad space. We will fight back against these baseless accusations.”
Separately, the US Justice Department and state attorneys general have filed antitrust charges against Google.
The tech giant has previously stated that the ad technology industry is competitive and denied exploiting its market position.
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