Federal Judge Makes Major Ruling In Google’s Monopoly Case

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In Google’s antitrust case, a federal judge ruled that the tech giant “illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology”.

The Department of Justice brought the antitrust case against Google in January 2023.

In this case, prosecutors proved that Google operated as a monopoly in the advertising technology industry.

In her decision, US District Judge Leonie Brinkema wrote, “Plaintiffs have proven that Google has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising.”

Brinkema added, “For over a decade, Google has tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration, which enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly power in these two markets.”

Here’s what CNBC:

Alphabet’s Google illegally dominated two markets for online advertising technology, a federal judge said on Thursday, dealing another blow to the tech titan in an antitrust case brought by the U.S.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, ruled that Google unlawfully monopolized markets for publisher ad servers and the market for ad exchanges which sit between buyers and sellers. Antitrust enforcers failed to show the company had a monopoly in advertiser ad networks, she wrote.

The ruling could allow prosecutors to argue for a breakup of Google’s advertising products. The U.S. Department of Justice has said that Google should have to sell off at least its Google Ad Manager, which includes the company’s publisher ad server and its ad exchange.

Google will now face the possibility of two different U.S. courts ordering it to sell assets or change its business practices. A judge in Washington will hold a trial next week on the DOJ’s request to make Google sell its Chrome browser and take other measures to end its dominance in online search.

Per The Verge:

The US Department of Justice has won its antitrust case against Google, which accused the company of operating a monopoly in the advertising technology industry. The ruling, which marks Google’s most recent antitrust loss following its Search case, says the tech giant’s anticompetitive practices in two key markets “substantially harmed” publishers and users on the web.

“Plaintiffs have proven that Google has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising,” US District Judge Leonie Brinkema writes. “For over a decade, Google has tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration, which enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly power in these two markets.”

Judge Brinkema found Google “liable under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act” due to its practices in the ad tech tool and exchange spaces, but dismissed the argument that Google had operated a monopoly in ad networks.



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