CN
17 Apr 2025

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) - A federal judge ruled on Thursday that Google's grasp of tech tools allows it to wield monopolistic power in the advertising industry, violating the country's antitrust laws.

The decision hands a defeat to Google, already convicted of antitrust violations in a separate case involving its search engine.

The Justice Department asked the judge to order the divestiture of the Google Ad Manager suite, including both Google's publisher ad server, DFP, and Google's ad exchange, AdX, along with any additional structural relief as needed to cure any anticompetitive harm.

The Justice Department's 2023 complaint charged that Google corrupted legitimate competition in the ad tech industry. "Google, a single company with pervasive conflicts of interest, now controls: (1) the technology used by nearly every major website publisher to offer advertising space for sale; (2) the leading tools used by advertisers to buy that advertising space; and (3) the largest ad exchange that matches publishers with advertisers each time that ad space is sold."

Google attorneys countered that the government misconstrued the ad market. They argue that Google's ad tech products "enable a robust, multi-sided marketplace characterized by rapid expansion of advertising on internet pages and mobile apps that have allowed publishers to grow their sales. These Google products make it easier for advertisers to reach consumers by placing effective, user-friendly ads online and in apps; assist content publishers in generating more income from the sale of advertising space; and ensure that the interests of consumers are protected by blocking malware and offensive and inappropriate content."

The trial before U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, a Bill Clinton appointee, spanned the better part of September.

Representatives from media outlets took the stand to describe their issues with Google. A DailyMail.com executive explained that his company investigated possibly using another ad server, but it wasn't doable. Google's ad server is used by 90% of publishers, he said. If they'd pulled out, DailyMail.com revenue would have been put at risk.

Source: Courthouse News Service