- “Competition in the ad tech industry has ended for reasons that were neither accidental nor inevitable.” – Complaint from the Ministry of Justice
- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the attorneys general of eight U.S. states on Tuesday announced they were suing Google for antitrust violations of the Sherman Act over the technology company’s monopoly on digital advertising technology.
- The attorney generals of California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Ten,nessee and Virginia joined the lawsuit.
- In a 155-page complaint filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, the Department of Justice and Attorney General explained that Google “distorts legitimate competition in the advertising technology industry by engaging in a systematic campaign to seize control of a wide range of high-tech tools. used by publishers, adv, fertilisers, and brokers to promote digital advertising.”
- The complaint added that “competition in the ad technology space is disrupted for reasons that were neither accidental nor inevitable” and called Google an “industry giant.”
Among other things, the complaint seeks damages under 15 USC § 15a; disposing of at least the Google Ad Manager package, including the Google Ad Server for Publishers (DoubleClick for Publishers) and the Google AdX ad exchange; and “prohibiting Google from continuing to use the anti-competitive practices described herein, as well as any other practices with the same purpose and effect as the contested practices.”
The complaint also alleges that Google made the United States suffer losses “because the United States and its various agencies and departments are the buyers of open web advertising.”
“The complaint, filed today, alleges widespread and systematic misconduct by which Google sought to strengthen its position in the market and prevent competition in the free market,” US Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said in a statement from the Department of Justice.
She added: “In the pursuit of excessive profits, Google has done a lot of damage to online publishers and advertisers, as well as American consumers. This lawsuit marks a major milestone in the Department’s efforts to hold major technology companies accountable for antitrust violations.”
In a statement to Diversity Commenting on the lawsuit, Google noted that a similar lawsuit recently filed by the Texas Attorney General was largely dismissed in federal court and said a Justice Department victory would slow innovation and hurt small businesses and publishers.
“Today’s lawsuit seeks to hold Google accountable for its long-standing digital advertising monopolies that content creators use to sell ads and advertisers use to buy ads on the open web,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Antitrust Division. Ministry of Justice.
“Our complaint sets out detailed allegations explaining how Google engaged in 15 years of sustained behavior that has had—and continues to have—the effect of driving out competitors, reducing competition, inflating advertising costs, and reducing revenue for news publishers and content creators. innovation and damage to the exchange of information and ideas in the public sphere”.