Google Ordered by French Regulator to Take Measures on Advertising

France's competition regulator has ordered Google to take measures regarding some of its advertising methods, saying these had hit French firm Amadeus which runs a directory service in France.

"Google will need to quickly clarify the rules for its Google Ads online advertising platform that apply to electronic paid information services in order to make them more precise and intelligible and to ensure their application under non-discriminatory conditions," the regulator said in a statement.

Its decision comes a few weeks after France's data protection watchdog fined Google EUR 50 million ($57.5 million, or roughly Rs. 405 crores) for breaching European Union online privacy rules, the biggest such penalty levied against a US tech giant.

Google said it would appeal the record EUR 50 million fine imposed by France's data regulator for failing to meet the EU's strict new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

"We've worked hard to create a GDPR consent process for personalised ads that is as transparent and straightforward as possible, based on regulatory guidance and user experience testing," the company said in a statement.

"We're also concerned about the impact of this ruling on publishers, original content creators and tech companies in Europe and beyond," it added.

© Thomson Reuters 2019