The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) has launched a formal antitrust investigation into Google over suspected conduct in the online advertising sector, marking another regulatory challenge for the technology company as European authorities continue to scrutinize competition in digital markets.
According to the Belgian Competition Authority, the investigation follows a preliminary assessment of information submitted to the regulator, along with evidence gathered independently by its investigative service. The authority said those findings indicated sufficient grounds to examine whether Google’s conduct may have breached Belgian and European competition laws governing abuses of dominant market positions.
The inquiry focuses on Google’s role in the complex online advertising supply chain, where advertisers purchase digital advertising inventory and website publishers sell advertising space through a series of intermediary services. Google operates across multiple layers of that ecosystem, including advertising exchanges and tools used by advertisers to buy digital ads.
The Belgian regulator said it will assess, among other issues, whether Google’s contractual terms governing certain advertising intermediation services, as well as potential differences in how those services are provided, may have disadvantaged customers or competing businesses. According to the authority, investigators will examine whether the practices could constitute an abuse of dominance under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Belgium’s national competition rules, or provisions concerning economic dependence under Belgian law.
The authority emphasized that opening formal proceedings does not predetermine the outcome of the investigation. Google will have the opportunity to participate fully during the investigative process, and the case remains in its preliminary stages, the regulator said.
Digital advertising remains a priority for competition regulators
The Belgian investigation adds to an expanding body of antitrust scrutiny targeting digital advertising markets, where regulators have increasingly questioned whether vertically integrated technology platforms can leverage their positions across multiple services to limit competition.
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Online advertising has become a particular focus because major platforms often operate simultaneously as publishers, advertising exchanges, ad-serving providers, and buyer tools, giving them influence over multiple stages of advertising transactions. Competition authorities have argued that such integration can create incentives to favor proprietary services or disadvantage rivals.
The Belgian Competition Authority has identified digital markets as one of its principal enforcement priorities for 2026. In its policy agenda, the regulator said it intends to continue monitoring online platforms, cloud infrastructure, telecommunications services, algorithmic decision-making, and other technology markets where concentration or digital transformation could affect competition.
Part of broader European enforcement trend
The Belgian case arrives amid continuing international enforcement efforts involving Google’s advertising technology business.
European regulators have devoted increasing attention to competition concerns in digital advertising alongside broader implementation of the European Union’s digital regulatory framework. Separately, Google’s advertising technology operations have also faced antitrust proceedings in other jurisdictions, reflecting concerns about competition in ad-tech infrastructure and intermediary services.
Belgium has also demonstrated a willingness to pursue significant competition investigations involving digital markets in recent years. Legal observers note that the country’s competition authority has increasingly emphasized enforcement involving technology platforms, telecommunications infrastructure, and emerging digital ecosystems as part of its broader strategy for safeguarding competition.
Source: Belgian Competition
