Swiss competition watchdog investigates online advertising
The Swiss Competition Commission (Comco) has opened two investigations into search engine advertising. The first concerns companies in the travel sector and the second of online casinos, the authority said in a press release on Thursday.
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Swiss competition watchdog investigates online advertising
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As part of their advertising activities, companies can place bids on search engines for certain keywords. In this way, they can promote the visibility of their offering by influencing the results that users see first when searching the internet.
However, Comco has received information indicating that several companies in the travel sector and numerous online casinos have agreed to avoid competing with each other on the main search engines. They allegedly did this by refraining from placing bids on certain keywords linked to competing brands.
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“This approach could constitute an unlawful agreement and have harmful effects on competition and consumers,” writes Comco, insofar as it may have made it more difficult to compare competing offers.
The first investigation concerns three companies offering package holidays in Switzerland. The second involves almost all online casinos in Switzerland. The companies concerned benefit from the presumption of innocence, Comco points out.
Translated from French by AI/jdp
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