Antitrust investigations have been opened by regulators in both the UK and EU into Google. MetaFacebook’s 2018 ad deal with.

Parallel probes will be announced on Friday to examine whether or not the “Jedi Blue”, agreement between two companies has hampered competition within the online advertising market. Online display ads refer to graphic advertisements that are displayed on websites, social media and mobile apps.

Andrea Coscelli is the CEO of U.K’s Competition and Markets Authority. He stated in a statement that “we’re worried about Google possibly having teamed up to Meta to place obstacles in the path of competitors who offer important online display advertising service to publishers.”

“If one company has as stranglehold over a certain area, it can make it hard for start-ups and smaller businesses to break into the market – and may ultimately reduce customer choice,” he added.

The regulator said it wants to determine whether the tech giants restricted or prevented the uptake of “header bidding services,” which enable news publishers to sell their online advertising space to multiple buyers at the same time, rather than receiving offers individually.

Meta spokeswoman: “Meta’s non-exclusive bid agreement with Google, as well as similar agreements that we have with other platforms, has helped increase the competition for ad placings. This business relationship allows Meta to provide more value for advertisers and publishers which results in improved outcomes for everyone. “We will work with both publishers and advertisers.”

Google has not yet responded to CNBC’s request.

This is an urgent story that will soon be updated.