Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Justice Dept. Sues Google Over Digital Advertising Dominance
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
January 24, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Justice Department and eight states filed an antitrust suit against Google on Tuesday, seeking to shatter its alleged monopoly on the entire ecosystem of online advertising as a hurtful burden to advertisers, consumers and even the U.S. government.

The government alleges that Google’s plan to assert dominance has been to “neutralize or eliminate” rivals through acquisitions and to force advertisers to use its products by making it difficult to use competitors’ products.

‘Anti-Competitive Conduct’

The antitrust suit was filed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press conference Tuesday that “for 15 years, Google has pursued a course of anti-competitive conduct” that has halted the rise of rival technologies and manipulated the mechanics of online ad auctions to force advertisers and publishers to use its tools.

In so doing, he added, “Google has engaged in exclusionary conduct” that has “severely weakened,” if not destroyed, competition in the ad tech industry.

“First, Google controls the technology used by nearly every major website publisher to offer advertising space for sale. Second, Google controls the leading tool used by advertisers to buy that advertising space. And third, Google controls the largest ad exchange that matches publishers and advertisers together each time that ad space is sold,” Garland said.

As a result, he added, “website creators earn less and advertisers pay more.” And this means fewer publishers can offer their content without subscriptions, paywalls and other fees to make up for revenue.

The department’s suit accuses Google of unlawfully monopolizing the way ads are served online by excluding competitors. This includes its 2008 acquisition of DoubleClick, a dominant ad server, and subsequent rollout of technology that locks in the split-second bidding process for ads that get served on web pages.

Google’s ad manager lets large publishers who have significant direct sales manage their advertisements. The ad exchange, meanwhile, is a real-time marketplace to buy and sell online display ads.

The lawsuit demands that Google break off three different businesses from its core business of search, YouTube and other products such as Gmail: the buying and selling of ads and ownership of the exchange where that business is transacted.

Alphabet Inc., and Others Criticize the Lawsuit

Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, said in a statement that the suit “doubles down on a flawed argument that would slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow.”

An internet services trade group that includes Google as a member described the lawsuit and its “radical structural remedies” as unjustified.

Matt Schruers, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association, said competition for advertising is fierce and the “governments’ contention that digital ads aren’t in competition with print, broadcast, and outdoor advertising defies reason.”

Dina Srinivasan, a Yale University fellow and adtech expert, said the lawsuit is “huge” because it aligns the entire nation — state and federal governments — in a bipartisan legal offensive against Google.

The current online ad market, Srinivasan said, “is broken and totally inefficient.” The fact that intermediaries are getting 30% to 50% of the take on each ad trade is “an insane inefficiency to have baked into the U.S. economy.” She called it “a massive tax on the free internet and consumers at large. It directly affects the viability of a free press” as well.

As with many highly complex technical markets, it has taken time for federal and state regulators and policymakers to catch up with and understand the online ad market. Srinivasan noted that it took a decade before they woke up to the perils of high-speed trading in financial markets and began adopting measures to discourage it.

Google Holds 29% of the US Digital Ad Market

Google held nearly 29% of the U.S. digital advertising market — which includes all the ads people see on computers. phones, tablets and other internet-connected devices — in 2022, according to research firm Insider Intelligence. Facebook parent company Meta is second, commanding nearly 20% of the market. Amazon is a distant, but growing, third at more than 11%.

Insider is estimating that both Google and Meta’s share of the ad market will decline, while rivals such as Amazon and TikTok are expected to see gains.

DOJ Lawsuit Result of Investigations Conducted Over ‘Many Years’

This is the latest legal action taken against Google by either the Justice Department or local state governments. In October 2020, for instance, the Trump administration and 11 state attorneys general sued Google for violating antitrust laws, alleging anticompetitive practices in the search and search advertising markets.

Asked why the Justice Department would bring the suit when a similar complaint has already been filed by states, Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, the department’s top antitrust official, said, “We conducted our own investigation, and that investigation occurred over many years.” He said the Justice Department lawsuit, totaling roughly 150 pages, details “many facts, many episodes that individually and in the aggregate” reveal numerous monopolies.

Tuesday’s lawsuit in essence aligns the Biden administration and new states with the 35 states and District of Colombia that sued Google in December 2020 over the exact same issues.

The states taking part in the suit include California, Virginia, Connecticut, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Tennessee.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Authorities Seek Help Finding Relatives of Deceased Fresno Man

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Felecia Johnson

DON'T MISS

How in the World Did Fresno End Up on Trump’s Sanctuary Cities List?

DON'T MISS

X Marks the Spot: Bruised Musk Says His Young Son Punched Him

DON'T MISS

PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

DON'T MISS

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

DON'T MISS

San Francisco 49ers Acquire Eagles Edge Rusher Bryce Huff, AP Source Says

DON'T MISS

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

DON'T MISS

California School Awards Dinner at Disneyland Comes With Hefty Price Tag

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Release Video of Officer-Involved Shooting

UP NEXT

Oreo Maker Mondelez Sues Aldi, Alleging Grocery Chain Copies Its Packaging to Confuse Customers

UP NEXT

Taylor Swift Has Regained Control of Her Music, Buys Back First 6 Albums

UP NEXT

Former MLB All-Star Breaks Ground on BMW/Porsche/Audi Dealership in Clovis

UP NEXT

Costco Misses Quarterly Revenue Expectations Amid Reduced Consumer Spending

UP NEXT

US Appeals Court Reinstates Trump Tariffs, Sowing Market Confusion

UP NEXT

CEO Pay Rose Nearly 10% in 2024 as Stock Prices and Profits Soared

UP NEXT

Federal Trade Court Blocks Trump From Imposing Sweeping Tariffs Under Emergency Powers Law

UP NEXT

Fed Minutes: Uncertainty ‘Elevated’ as Risks of Higher Inflation and Unemployment Rise

UP NEXT

SF-Based Salesforce Is Buying Informatica in $8 Billion Deal

UP NEXT

Justice Department Reaches Deal to Allow Boeing to Avoid Prosecution Over 737 Max Crashes

X Marks the Spot: Bruised Musk Says His Young Son Punched Him

8 hours ago

PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

9 hours ago

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

10 hours ago

San Francisco 49ers Acquire Eagles Edge Rusher Bryce Huff, AP Source Says

10 hours ago

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

10 hours ago

California School Awards Dinner at Disneyland Comes With Hefty Price Tag

12 hours ago

Fresno Police Release Video of Officer-Involved Shooting

12 hours ago

Hamas Says It Is Still Reviewing a US Proposal for a Gaza Ceasefire

12 hours ago

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

12 hours ago

Oreo Maker Mondelez Sues Aldi, Alleging Grocery Chain Copies Its Packaging to Confuse Customers

12 hours ago

Authorities Seek Help Finding Relatives of Deceased Fresno Man

The Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating family members of a Fresno man who died last month. F...

7 hours ago

The Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office is seeking the public’s help to locate the family of Felipe Pech, 68, of Fresno, who died on April 23, 2025. (Fresno County SO)
7 hours ago

Authorities Seek Help Finding Relatives of Deceased Fresno Man

Felecia Johnson is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for May 30, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
8 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Felecia Johnson

8 hours ago

How in the World Did Fresno End Up on Trump’s Sanctuary Cities List?

8 hours ago

X Marks the Spot: Bruised Musk Says His Young Son Punched Him

9 hours ago

PBS Suing Trump Administration Over Defunding, Three Days After NPR Filed Similar Case

10 hours ago

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

10 hours ago

San Francisco 49ers Acquire Eagles Edge Rusher Bryce Huff, AP Source Says

10 hours ago

California Lawmaker Won’t Be Charged After Citation for Suspicion of Impaired Driving

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend