Türkiye probes Google’s PMAX ads for possible market distortion

Türkiye's Competition Authority announced on Friday that it has launched an investigation into Google's Performance Max (PMAX) campaign and its potential to distort market competition by combining data from various channels.

"The subject of the investigation is the claims that GOOGLE violated article 6 of the Act no 4054 by transferring its power in online search advertising services to other online advertising services via Performance Max (PMAX) campaign, which is a type of campaign in Google Ads, by engaging in exploitative practices against advertisers who use PMAX campaign and by distorting competition in the market through combining the data coming from different channels," the authority said in a statement.

The investigation will look into whether Google transferred its power in the field to other advertising services through the campaign in question, whether it engaged in unfair practices against advertisers, and whether it prevented competition through data aggregation.

"PMAX, which was launched by GOOGLE in 2021, allows publishing ads in all ad inventories owned by GOOGLE (Google Shopping, Search, YouTube, Discover, Display Network and Maps) through a single campaign. Unlike other campaigns offered by GOOGLE, PMAX identifies the ad inventory that will maximize conversions in real-time and automatically optimizes ad delivery process thanks to its AI features," it noted.

The authority's investigation decisions do not imply that the undertakings under investigation violated the relevant law and are or will be sanctioned.