This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google (GOOGL, Financials) has submitted a proposal to European Union regulators offering changes to its advertising technology operations in an effort to settle a major antitrust case without selling part of the business.
The company said its plan would make it easier for publishers and advertisers to use competing online advertising tools, addressing the European Commission’s concerns over conflicts of interest within Google’s adtech stack. Regulators fined the firm 2.95 billion ($3.4 billion) in September for favoring its own display technology and strengthening its AdX exchange’s market dominance.
In a blog post Friday, Google said it is introducing immediate product updates, such as allowing publishers to set different minimum prices for different bidders in Google Ad Manager. It also plans to increase the interoperability of its tools to provide users with greater flexibility and choice.
The European Commission had urged Google to consider divesting parts of its adtech operations, a step the company called disruptive and potentially harmful to thousands of publishers that rely on its systems. Google’s latest proposal closely aligns with measures it offered to the U.S. Department of Justice in a parallel case.