Judge Rules Google Held Monopoly Over Online Ad Tech

Topline

A federal judge ruled on Thursday Google violated antitrust laws to hold a monopoly over online advertising technology, a major loss for the company in its latest antitrust case as Google may soon be forced to sell its Chrome browser and other assets.

The ruling is the latest against Google in the last year finding the company acted illegally to … More maintain market dominance.

Key Facts

Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled Thursday that Google has “willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts” to maintain a monopoly in the publishing ad server and ad exchange markets, including eliminating competitors through acquisitions and forcing customers to use the company’s products, among others.

Brinkema, however, also ruled prosecutors failed to successfully argue Google held a monopoly over advertiser ad networks, suggesting they used a market term “not common in the digital advertising industry.”

Google’s attorneys argued the company faced competition from Amazon and Comcast, and that social networks like TikTok also posed market challenges, though the Justice Department claimed Google held an 87% market share in ad-selling technology.

Thursday’s decision is the latest against Google after Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August the company violated antitrust laws to maintain a monopoly with its search engine, and the Justice Department in November asked Mehta to force Google to sell its Chrome browser, which prosecutors said “fortified” the company’s dominance.

Brinkema’s ruling could allow prosecutors to request Google break up its advertising products, and the Justice Department has argued the company should at least sell Google Ad Manager, a platform that includes the company’s ad server and ad exchange.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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How Much Is Google’s Ad Tech Business Worth?

Some industry analysts have reportedly speculated that Google’s advertising technology business, if spun off as a separate company, could be worth up to $95 billion. Google Network, a division of Google’s business that manages an auction-style system for advertisers to purchase digital ad space, generated $31.4 billion in revenue in 2023.

What To Watch For

Mehta will oversee a hearing Monday on the Justice Department’s request to make Google sell its Chrome browser and implement other changes to end its online search monopoly. The trial is expected to last three weeks.

Key Background

The Justice Department brought a series of antitrust cases against Google under the Biden administration, including an October 2020 lawsuit alleging Google held a monopoly over the search engine market. Prosecutors claimed Google made up nearly 90% of Americans’ online search queries, though Google disputed that estimate. In his ruling, Mehta wrote, “Google is a monopolist” and has “acted as one to maintain its monopoly.” In 2023, Google agreed to pay $700 million to resolve settle an antitrust case that alleged the company forced app makers to use its payment system on its Play Store marketplace. The DOJ sued Google again that year, claiming Google illegally maintained a monopoly on advertising technology markets. Prosecutors argued Google locked publishers into using its software for advertising, and some of the company’s market dominance stemmed from a $3.1 billion acquisition of the advertising software firm DoubleClick in 2008.

Tangent

Meta could be forced to restructure its business or sell Instagram and WhatsApp, as the company faces an antitrust suit. The Federal Trade Commission claims Meta purchased the two apps to eliminate competition for Facebook, though the company has denied this claim and countered that it faces competition from TikTok and other social media companies.