Google Accused of Monopolizing Ads Business in Yet Another Antitrust Lawsuit

Google is facing another antitrust lawsuit in the US, this time over its ad tech practices. The advertising technology trial will begin in the US state of Virginia on September 9.

In January of last year, the US Department of Justice alleged that Google violated US antitrust laws by illegally monopolizing the digital advertising market.

“Google’s anticompetitive conduct has raised barriers to entry artificially high, forced major competitors out of the market for ad technology tools, deterred potential competitors from entering the market, and left Google’s few remaining competitors marginalized and unfairly disadvantaged,” the suit says. .

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleged that Google monopolizes key digital advertising technologies, collectively known as the “ad tech stack,” and that website publishers depend on them to sell ads and advertisers rely on them to buy them. advertisements and reach potential customers.

As the complaint alleges, over the past 15 years Google has engaged in anti-competitive and exclusionary conduct consisting of neutralizing or eliminating ad tech competitors through acquisitions. use its dominant position in the digital advertising market to force more publishers and advertisers to use its products; and prevents the use of competing products.

“In doing so, Google strengthened its dominance in the tools that website publishers and online advertisers rely on, as well as in the digital ad exchange that conducts ad auctions,” the complaint reads.

Google has said the DoJ’s reasoning would “slow innovation, raise advertising costs and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow.”

The ad tech trial is Google’s second battle with the DOJ in the area of competition law since the trial over its search business began last September.