Feb 27 (Reuters) - Belgium's competition watchdog said on Friday it had opened an investigation into the sale of online ads by Google. * The competition authorities said they had "seriousindications"
Belgium watchdog opens probe into Google online ad pricing practices
Investigation and wider EU antitrust context
Belgium competition watchdog opens investigation
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Belgium's competition watchdog said on Friday it had opened an investigation into the sale of online ads by Google.
Key allegations and status of the probe
Serious indications of potential antitrust breach
* The competition authorities said they had "seriousindications" that Google's model for selling online ads was inbreach of antitrust rules, as the company appeared to be abusingits market power.Preliminary phase and uncertain outcome
* The investigation is in a preliminary phase and theoutcome is unclear, they said.Broader European Union scrutiny of Google
Existing EU investigations and past fines
* Google is already the subject of several European Unionantitrust investigations and has been fined billions of euros inEurope for antitrust violations in recent years.Potential additional European Commission investigation
* Earlier this month, in a letter to advertisers, Googlesaid it also risked another antitrust investigation by theEuropean Commission over concerns it may be unfairly drivingonline advertising prices higher.Google's response on Search ads and market impact
* Google, which dominates the multibillion-dollar onlineadvertising market, said at the time that Google Search ads helpsmall businesses to compete with the biggest brands and keep theweb free for everyone.(Reporting by Bart Meijer. Editing by Mark Potter)
