In today's Digest, we cover the European Commission fining Google €890m for Digital Markets Act breaches, TAG's accreditation influence waning as P&G drops its mandate and Google and The Trade Desk let certifications lapse, and Havas posting +2.5% organic growth with an improved EBIT margin for H1 2026.

EU fines Google €890m over search and app store breaches

The European Commission has fined Google a combined €890m (£760m) for two separate breaches of the Digital Markets Act, marking the first time the tech giant has been penalised under the bloc's landmark gatekeeper rules. Brussels found that Google gave preferential treatment to its own services - including shopping, hotel, transport and sports results - over rivals' offerings within Google Search, resulting in a €460m fine. A further €430m penalty was issued over Google Play, where the company was found to have restricted app developers from directing consumers toward cheaper offers on external websites or alternative app stores.

The Commission has ordered Google to treat third-party services appearing in its search results fairly and without discrimination, and to let developers freely promote and fulfil offers outside its own distribution channels, with 60 days given to demonstrate compliance before further penalties can be applied.

TAG loses ground as P&G drops mandate and Google, Trade Desk ditch certifications

The Trusted Accountability Group (TAG), one of the ad industry's longest-standing accreditors on fraud and brand safety, is showing signs of waning influence after several major players stepped back from its certifications. Procter & Gamble - long one of TAG's most vocal supporters, having pledged in 2017 to only work with TAG-certified partners - confirmed it no longer contractually requires its ad partners to hold TAG certification, though it still encourages the practice.

Google, which previously held three of TAG's four certifications, chose not to renew them this year following a strategic review, saying they were redundant alongside its existing Media Rating Council accreditation. The Trade Desk also declined to reapply after holding all four TAG certifications, and Dailymotion's certifications quietly disappeared from TAG's registry, though the platform still displays TAG seals on its site. TAG CEO Mike Zaneis characterised the departures as normal churn, but industry voices told AdWeek that scepticism has grown around the rigour of TAG's audit process and its real-world value now that free industry tools like ads.txt and sellers.json cover similar ground.

Havas reports solid H1 2026 results

Havas delivered organic net revenue growth of +2.5% for the first half of 2026, with net revenue reaching €1,362m and adjusted EBIT climbing to €150m - a margin of 11.0%, up 30 basis points year-on-year. Group net income rose 13.5% to €84m, while second-quarter net revenue was up 3.8% to €724m, helped by a stronger contribution from M&A and a lighter drag from foreign exchange.

Performance varied by region: North America was the standout with organic growth of +6.9% for the half, while Europe grew a more modest +0.7% and APAC & Africa declined -4.8% amid continued weakness in China and the Middle East. Chairman and CEO Yannick Bolloré pointed to the resilience of the group's Converged strategy and progress at Horizon Global, its joint venture with Horizon Media, while the company continued bolt-on acquisitions in sports marketing, experiential activation and corporate influence. Havas confirmed full-year guidance of +2.0% to +3.0% organic growth and an adjusted EBIT margin of 13.2% to 13.5%.