A handful of online publishers said they want out of a Google program that promised to optimize the mobile-browsing experience, alleging it generates less advertising revenue, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Instead of using Google parent company Alphabet Inc.’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) framework that was launched in 2015, publishers including BuzzFeed and BDG said they may use their own versions of mobile-optimized pages.
If these firms abandon AMP, it will make media companies less reliant on Google. The tech giant’s control of digital advertising caused publishers to file a lawsuit in 2020 alleging anticompetitive behavior.
Read more: DOJ, States To Decide Whether To Join Forces On Google In Antitrust Probe
The focus of the controversy is Google’s online advertising business, which has provided the company the most valuable link in the chain of publishers and advertisers. But a group of state attorneys general allege Google’s conduct violates antitrust regulations. Google has maintained a denial that it is using its power to squash competition.
The news outlet reported the lawsuit alleged that AMP pages, hosted on Google’s servers, were designed to make it more challenging for ad space to be sold on platforms that compete with Google. The complaint also asserted that Google made ads that failed to use AMP’s one-second delay load.
Google said such claims about AMP are untrue and engineers designed the system to load webpages faster.
Still, media executives have said jettisoning AMP would give them greater control over their ads and make it easier to sell ad space. The net effect, they argue, is more ads and better prices for the space.
A Google spokeswoman told the newspaper that AMP continues to be a helpful way for sites, even those without large digital teams, to easily create great web experiences.
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