Google is set to face its second antitrust trial in less than a year as the Department of Justice (DOJ) is addressing the tech giant’s alleged monopolistic practices in the ad-tech industry. The news follows a September 2023 trial, in which Google was accused of maintaining a monopoly in the search engine market.
Fox Business reports the DOJ’s lawsuit against Google argues that the company’s dominance in advertising technology has created an uneven playing field, stifling competition and driving up ad prices for customers. The suit alleges that Google’s control over the buying, selling, and operation of the largest ad exchange has allowed the company to corner the market, forcing competitors out and disadvantaging the few that remain.
Advertising technology is a cornerstone of Google’s business model, accounting for a staggering 77% of the company’s total revenue. In 2023, Google reported $307 billion in earnings, with $237 billion coming from its ad services alone, according to its annual revenue report.
The ad-tech trial follows an August ruling that found Google had created a monopoly in the search engine space, employing anticompetitive practices that disadvantaged competitors such as DuckDuckGo, Bing, and Yelp. In that specific case, Google defended itself by arguing that its search engine was simply a superior product—a line of reasoning it is expected to echo in the upcoming trial.
Critics argue that Google’s ad-tech operations, which include the buying, selling, and exchange of ads, constitute an unfair practice akin to a financial institution controlling both the banking system and the stock exchange. The DOJ referenced a Google advertising executive who compared the situation to “if Goldman or Citibank owned the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange).”
In court filings, the DOJ claimed that Google had “forced key competitors to abandon the market for ad tech tools, dissuaded potential competitors from joining the market, and left Google’s few remaining competitors marginalized and unfairly disadvantaged.” Google, in response, is expected to argue that the lawsuit is a “backward-looking case” and “out of touch with reality.”
The trial will take place in Alexandria, Virginia, and is expected to last several weeks, and the DOJ is expected to present a detailed proposal to Google by the end of the year, with a final solution required by August 2025, adds Fox Business.