Google Is a Monopolist in Online Advertising Technology, Judge Says
Google illegally controlled two markets for online advertising technology, a court found on Thursday, handing another blow to the internet behemoth and clearing the path for US antitrust authorities to pursue a separation of its advertising offerings.
The US Department of Justice, together with 17 US states, sued Google, alleging that the internet giant was illegally controlling the technology that determines which advertisements should be shown online and where.
The verdict that Google breached antitrust law is the US government's second big court win over the corporation in less than a year, amid allegations that it unjustly monopolized crucial aspects of the internet ecosystem, including online search. And it is the third such verdict since a federal jury ruled in December 2023 that Google's exclusive app store is likewise an unlawful monopoly.
District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued her ruling on Thursday, addressing Google's $31 billion ad business, which links website owners with advertisers. This "stack" of technology selects which banner adverts show on innumerable websites throughout the internet.
The Justice Department's complaint came after years of criticism that Google's substantial involvement in the digital ecosystem, which allows advertisers to put advertisements and publishers to supply digital ad space, constituted a conflict of interest that Google used anticompetitively.
This is Google's second antitrust court loss in a year, following a ruling that the business had a monopoly on internet search.
Google stated that the Justice Department's position is "flawed" and will "slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow," according to a statement from a company representative issued after the complaint was filed in 2023.
The DOJ has stated that Google should be forced to sell at least its Google Ad Manager, which comprises the company's publisher ad server and ad exchange.
However, a Google official said Thursday that they were certain they would not be required to relinquish a section of the company as part of any remedy, given the court's ruling that its acquisitions of advertising tech businesses such as DoubleClick were not anti-competitive.
Google said it will file an appeal against the ruling.
"Publishers have many options and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective," the firm's head of regulatory affairs Lee-Ann Mulholland said.
US district judge Leonie Brinkema said in the ruling Google had "wilfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts" which enabled it to "acquire and maintain monopoly power" in the market.
"This exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google's publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web," she said.
