Google and Meta are facing hopeless scrutiny from regulators in Europe and the UK

Regulators in the EU and the UK have opened up hopeless surveys on Google and MetaPreviously on Facebook, the 2018 advertising deal of technology giants.

A parallel study announced on Friday will look at whether the “JD Blue” deal between the two companies will prevent competition in the markets for online visual advertising services. Online display ads Graphic ads appearing on websites, mobile applications and social media.

Andrea Gocelli, CEO of the UK Competition and Markets Commission, said in a statement: “We are concerned that Google may be partnering with Meta to create obstacles in the way of competitors providing important online visual advertising services to publishers.”

“If a company is strangled in a particular area, it will make it harder for start-ups and small businesses to enter the market – and ultimately reduce customer choice,” he said.

The regulator said it would like to determine whether technology giants have banned or blocked “title auction services”, allowing news publishers to sell their online advertising space to multiple buyers simultaneously instead of acquiring them separately.

A Meta spokesman said: “Meta’s exclusive bidding agreement with Google and similar deals we have with other auction sites have helped increase competition for ad displays.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNBC.

This is a breaking story and will be updated soon.