- A US judge has deemed Google violated antitrust laws
- It reportedly monopolized ad market by tying to of its products together
- Google could have to sell off parts of its business, but remedies are yet to be confirmed
A Virginia District Judge has ruled Google violated antitrust laws by “willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power” in the advertising technology market, spelling potentially grave consequences for the tech giant.
The ruling follows a 2023 lawsuit by the Department of Justice, backed by eight separate US states, accusing the company of harming rivals, publishers and consumers online.
Google was specifically found guilty of monopolizing the market by tying together two parts of its adtech stack – DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) and Ad Exchange (AdX).
Judge rules that Google violated antitrust laws
Despite the findings, the judge did not find a monopoly in advertiser ad networks, representing a partial win for Google.
Although Google has been found guilty, the judge did not determine any remedies. A separate court hearing will set out what Google must do to comply with antitrust laws and set straight any violations. Consequences could include breaking up Google’s ad business, such as selling off Google Ad Manager, and further behavioral remedies like prohibiting Google from self-preferencing in ad auctions.
“Having found Google liable, the Court will set a briefing schedule and hearing date to determine the appropriate remedies for these antitrust violations,” the decision confirms.
Noting the continued employment of anticompetitive business practices for more than a decade, the judge said: “ In addition to depriving rivals of the ability to compete, this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web.”
“We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half. The Court found that our advertiser tools and our acquisitions, such as DoubleClick, don’t harm competition,” Google’s VP of Regulatory Affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland told TechRadar Pro.
“Publishers have many options and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective.”
Google is also in hot water about its search market dominance – nine in 10 (89.7%) of all internet searches tracked by Statcounter used Google. Bing, in second place, accounted for just 4%.
If the company is found guilty of violation there, it could also be forced to sell off its Chrome business, a browser that accounts for two in three (66.2%) browser sessions globally. That case is ongoing.
