The U.S. government is targeting Google’s main source of wealth—its highly profitable ad tech business. A trial starting on Monday will hear the Department of Justice’s argument that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, is illegally running a monopoly in the ad market.
Last year, Alphabet made over $200 billion from placing and selling ads that people see online, according to BBC.
Google says its success comes from the effectiveness of its services, but the government argues that Google uses its power to crush competition.
According to BBC, this is the second major antitrust case against Google in the U.S. In another recent case, a judge ruled that Google’s dominance in search was also illegal, though penalties are still being decided.
The Department of Justice, along with several states, filed a lawsuit claiming that Google controls the digital ad market and uses its power to block new ideas and competition.
Google disagrees, saying it’s just one of many companies in the digital ad space. They point to the growth of companies like Apple, Amazon, and TikTok as proof that competition is increasing, not shrinking, BBC reported.
Credit : BBC
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has said that Google’s actions have stopped rival technologies from growing. Now, both sides will present their cases to U.S.
District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who will make the final decision. This trial comes after another major case where a judge found Google guilty of illegally stopping competition in online search.
BBC reports that Google plans to defend itself in this ad tech trial by saying that people choose their ad services because they work well, not because they have to.
The U.S. isn’t the only place where Google’s ad business is under fire. BBC notes that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority also believes Google is using unfair practices to control the ad tech market, which could be hurting many UK publishers and advertisers.
Google, however, says this decision is based on a misunderstanding of how the ad tech industry works.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckg2dpkpmv1o