The CEO of a popular advertising company has called Google a “dictator” in the ad market, criticizing the amount of power they have.
After Parsec CEO Marc Guldimann was forced to completely “ditch” his old ad unit in response to Google’s upcoming version of the Chrome browser which will automatically block ads, he criticized the amount of power over the Internet that one company holds.
“Right now, they are a benevolent dictator,” Guldimann declared. “Let’s not joke ourselves. They own the browser. We’re playing in their world. They set the rules.”
According to Business Insider, “Starting next year, when Google rolls out the latest version of its Chrome browser, [Parsec’s style of] ads will be automatically blocked.”
“So Parsec is scrambling to ditch the old ad unit entirely — which means getting publishers, advertisers, and other business partners to run an entirely different, Chrome-approved, ad unit,” they explained. “Guldimann acknowledges that the company was always going to have to move away from ads that force interaction. But his complaint is that Google is using its massive power in the digital ad ecosystem, to play judge, jury, and executioner of ad-tech companies. He’s not clear, he says, on how Google made the decision it did or when and how it’ll be implemented.”
In March, the CEO of advertising firm WPP branded Google and Facebook as a duopoly.
“With duopolistic control or influence comes responsibility, and last time I checked Google’s revenues and margins and Facebook’s revenues and margins, they were certainly, I look at them with some degree of envy, it’s true,” proclaimed WPP CEO Martin Sorrel. “With authority or position comes a responsibility, and they have got to step up and take responsibility.”
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington and Gab @Nash, or like his page at Facebook.