Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O) is nearing a settlement of an antitrust case in France over allegations it abused its power in online advertising, and will likely pay a fine and institute operational changes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The French Competition Authority has said that Google's tool to sell space to advertisers, which publishers use, gave Google's online ad auction tool, which advertisers use, an advantage, the people told the newspaper.
Google offered to settle the matter by removing obstacles that it puts up against competitors, the newspaper reported.
The French case also alleged other forms of self-preferencing in the advertising side of Google's business, the people told the newspaper.
Google spokeswoman Leslie Pitterson did not comment on the reported settlement but said that the company's third-party ad tech products work with both Google's partners' and competitors' products.
