Federal court rules that Google violates antitrust laws in the online advertising technology market, Google calls it 'half a victory' but plans to appeal
In a lawsuit filed by the federal government and 17 states against Google for allegedly violating antitrust laws, a federal district court ruled that Google had violated antitrust laws with its online advertising technology.
Case 1:23-cv-00108-LMB-JFA Document 1410 Filed 04/17/25
(PDF file)
Google holds illegal monopolies in ad tech, US judge finds | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-judge-finds-google-holds-illegal-online-ad-tech-monopolies-2025-04-17/
Google ruled an online ad monopoly, could be forced to break up its advertising products – Computerworld
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3965047/google-ruled-an-online-ad-monopoly-could-be-forced-to-break-up-its-advertising-products.html
Judge rules Google illegally monopolized adtech, opening door to potential breakup | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/17/judge-rules-google-illegally-monopolized-ad-tech-opening-door-to-potential-breakup/
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, who heard the case, found that Google 'willfully established and maintained monopoly power' in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets.
The lawsuit revolved around Google's monopoly over three areas: the publisher marketplace, the advertiser marketplace, and the ad buying and selling platform that connects the two.
Judge Brinkema found that Google had abused its monopoly power by linking its publisher-facing service, DoubleClick for Publishers, with Google Ad Manager, which includes the Ad Exchange used to buy and sell ads.
On the other hand, the court determined that there is no monopoly on the ad networks that advertisers use to buy display ads.
Following the ruling, Google's vice president of legal and regulatory affairs, Lee-Ann Mulholland, said: 'We've won half the battle and will win the other half on appeal. The court found that our advertiser tools and acquisition of DoubleClick are not anticompetitive. We disagree with the court's decision on our publisher tools. Advertisers choose Google over other options because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable and effective.'
“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. We disagree with the Court's decision regarding our publisher tools. Publishers have many options and they…
— News from Google (@NewsFromGoogle) April 17, 2025
By the way, in August 2024, in a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice alleging that Google's maintenance of its position in smartphone search violated the antitrust laws, Judge Amit P. Mehta of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the company had violated the antitrust laws.
Federal judge rules that Google is violating antitrust laws by paying to maintain its position in smartphone search - GIGAZINE
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