Illegal consolidation of online advertising industry!
New York, United States, Apr 17 (EFE).-
A United States federal judge ruled Thursday that Google illegally consolidated its dominance in the online advertising technology industry, handing a significant antitrust victory to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its ongoing battle against the tech giant.
“Plaintiffs have demonstrated that Google engaged in willful anticompetitive conduct to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the ad server and ad exchange markets for display advertising on the open web,” wrote Judge Leonie Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The judge, however, dismissed part of the government’s case.
According to the ruling, for over a decade Google tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange through contractual policies and technological integration.
This strategy allowed the company to establish and preserve its monopoly across both key segments of the online advertising market.
The DOJ, along with a coalition of states, had sued Google, alleging that its monopolistic control over ad tech forced advertisers and publishers to pay higher prices while allowing the company to take a disproportionate cut from each transaction.
Google, for its part, argued during the three-week trial that the government’s market definition was flawed and detached from reality.
The company maintained that its advertising tools support both publishers and advertisers in generating more revenue.
The decision marks a major development ahead of another critical antitrust battle next week, when Google and the DOJ are set to meet again in Washington, DC.
This second phase, focused on Google’s search engine dominance, could potentially lead to the breakup of parts of the company.
The DOJ’s actions against Google are part of a broader effort by US authorities to rein in Big Tech’s market power.
In recent years, the Justice Department has also sued Apple, accusing the iPhone maker of unfairly restricting consumer choice by making it harder for users to switch away from its devices and services.
Separately, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched major cases against Amazon, alleging the e-commerce giant pressures small businesses, and against Meta, accusing the company of neutralizing competition by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp.
The antitrust trial against Meta began earlier this week in Washington, DC, signaling a new chapter in the US government’s attempts to regulate Silicon Valley’s biggest players. EFE syr/seo
