The UK competition authority Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation to show whether Google and Facebook have used their power to dominate the UK online advertising market, writes The Guardian.

The competition authority is also investigating how companies collect and process users’ personal data. The CMA says it has started a major investigation, but the focus is on the two tech companies.

The CMA says the study “should give parliament and citizens a better picture of what global online platforms are doing”. The watchdog also examines whether the companies have abused their power on the advertising market. It is estimated that Google and Facebook will together hold 70 percent of the advertising market in the United Kingdom next year.

Other countries are also researching the operation of the online advertising world. Authorities have also started investigations in France and Germany. In addition, various countries are investigating how companies like Google and Facebook handle personal data and how that data is shared.

Google and Facebook have both received substantial fines in recent years. For example, in March this year, Google was fined € 1.49 billion by the EU for abuse of power on the advertising platform. Facebook came in the news in 2018 when Cambridge Analytica inadvertently received data from millions of Facebook users.