In cooperation with the Austrian competition authority (BWB) the Bundeskartellamt conducted an administrative proceeding against the companies Google Inc., Mountain View/USA and Eyeo GmbH, Cologne (Germany), for concluding anticompetitive agreements.The proceeding was terminated after the companies amended a so-called “whitelisting contract” between them which had originally significantly restricted Eyeo’s independent entrepreneurial ad-blocking activity.

Under the name “Adblock Plus”, Eyeo offers programs which can be integrated into standard web browsers to stop adverts from appearing on websites visited by users (ad blockers). The company offers advertisers and advertising marketers the possibility to exclude certain ads from the ad-blocking process (whitelisting). To qualify for exclusion advertisements must meet certain “acceptable ads” criteria, which define them as less intrusive from the user’s perspective. Eyeo demands a fee from larger advertisers and advertising marketers for its whitelisting service. It also concluded a contract with Google for this service.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: “As the Federal Court of Justice also recently decided, ad blockers are a legal tool. It is understandable that consumers are interested in controlling the type and amount of online advertising they see. The offer of ad blockers is an integral part of the competitive process in online advertising services. Regulations in contracts aimed at restricting the offer of ad blockers are therefore anticompetitive and hence unacceptable.”

The administrative proceeding against Google and Eyeo was triggered not so much by the whitelisting agreement but by additional clauses in the contract which in the Bundeskartellamt's view restricted Eyeo’s possibilities to further develop its products, expand and invest in the market.

The parties have since amended the contract. These amendments have enabled the two competition authorities to close the proceeding.