file an anti-monopoly lawsuit against Google Adtech //

The long-awaited antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against Google has been filed. It accuses Google of using its adtech in order to establish a monopoly. The suit seeks force Google to get rid of its ad business and prevent it from engaging in anticompetitive practices.

The lawsuit states that Google “has inserted itself in all aspects of digital advertising marketplace and has used anticompetitive exclusionary and unlawful means to eliminate any threat to it dominance over digital advertisement technologies.”

Why we care. Google has been accused of simultaneously being a broker, supplier, and auctioneer for online ads. This has been a problem at best. Sen. Mike Lee (R, Utah) stated that “the conflicts of interest are so glaring” that one Google employee described Google’s ad company as being like “if Goldman and Citibank owned the NYSE.” It is great for consumers and the economy to crack down on monopolistic business practices. Communication is cheap and easy today because of the disintegration of AT&T in 1980s.

Google has in the past refuted monopoly claims by pointing out the large number other companies that facilitate online advertising. Today’s request for comment was not answered by the company.

Google offers unit changes for adtech units to prevent antitrust lawsuits

This is the fifth lawsuit against Google that has been filed by federal and state officials since 2020. A group of Texas-led states filed an antitrust suit against Google in that year over its advertising technology. The DOJ and another group sued Google for allegedly abusing its online search dominance. Several states sued Google over its app store practices in 2021.

Deeper: An antitrust bill could force Amazon, Google and Facebook to close off a portion of their advertising businesses

Google and other tech companies are under increasing pressure from governments around world to limit their control over online commerce and information. Amazon, Google and Apple have been subject to antitrust investigations in the European Union. They also faced new laws restricting the collection and use of consumer data.

The post Feds finally file an anti-monopoly lawsuit over Google’s advertising appeared first at MarTech.