Google Denied Allegation of DOJ’s Kanter Showing Prejudice in Advertising Technology Dispute

A federal judge has ruled that Alphabet Inc.’s Google cannot use allegations of bias made by a senior US Justice Department official as a defense in a government lawsuit accusing the company of holding a monopoly in the online advertising technology market.

Google had argued the case was illegal because it accused Jonathan Kanter, whom the company accused of violating ethics laws because he represented ad tech companies and Google’s competitors, including Apple Inc., before becoming an assistant antitrust attorney in November 2021. The DOJ filed the lawsuit in January along with more than a dozen states with a lawyer.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of Virginia on Friday is a blow to Google’s efforts to discredit the top antitrust officials in the Biden administration — Kanter and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Lina Khan — who have sought to limit the power of big tech companies. A separate DOJ lawsuit has been filed against Google, alleging that it has a monopoly on online search. The 10-week trial in the case began on Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for Google, which denies the allegations in both cases, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Brinkema’s sentencing.

Google argued in a filing in late August that Kanter’s alleged bias “shaped and infected the entire proceeding and reflects an improper tendency to seek against Google rather than to ensure that justice is served.” Kanter was removed from the case when Google hired his former law firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP to represent it in April.

At a hearing Friday, Google attorney Eric Mahr told the judge that the agency filed a “complaint that corresponds very closely” to allegations Kanter made on behalf of his clients in private practice.

But the judge disagreed, calling Google’s argument a “red herring defense.”

“This is not the kind of horrific case that you’re presenting, where an individual prosecutor or an individual government attorney retaliating against a client brought enforcement action,” Brinkema said. “This is an enforcement action initiated by the entire Department of Justice.”

The case is US v Google, 1:23-cv-108, US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Alexandria).