Federal judge rules DOJ antitrust case against Google's ad-tech division will proceed to trial in September

A significant legal battle initiated by the US government against Google’s advertising business is set to commence in September, as outlined by a federal judge.

District Judge Leonie Brinkema, in court documents filed on Monday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, specified that the trial will commence on September 9.

This legal action targets the fundamental operations of Google. Advertising constituted approximately $66 billion of the $86 billion in revenue reported by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, in the latest quarterly financial results released by the company last week.

The lawsuit pertaining to Google’s advertising technology represents the inaugural antitrust lawsuit against a major technology firm under the Biden administration, which has promised to rigorously uphold the nation’s antitrust laws, especially within the technology industry.

In the ad-tech case, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and numerous states have asserted that Google acquired competitors through anticompetitive mergers and exerted pressure on publishers and advertisers to utilize the company’s proprietary advertising technology products.

Google has maintained that the advertising technology market is competitive and dynamic, countering the government’s claims as "a flawed argument that would stifle innovation, increase advertising costs, and impede the growth of thousands of small businesses and publishers."