Google Ruled An Online Ad Monopoly, Could Be Forced To Break Up Its Advertising Products

A US District judge has ruled that Google monopolized nan advertisement tech market, stifling title and innovation.

In a landmark decision, a US District Judge has ruled that Google illegally monopolized nan advertisement tech market.

A national judge successful Virginia has recovered that nan tech elephantine established “monopoly power” for 2 online advertizing markets: patient advertisement servers and advertisement exchanges that beryllium betwixt buyers and sellers.

The ruling successful nan second-largest antitrust lawsuit of nan period could mean that Google will person to break up its advertizing products aliases alteration its business practices.

Google is said to person earned astir $265 cardinal successful 2024 alone done advertisement placement and sales. The institution has said it will entreaty nan decision.

Google was antecedently nan halfway of nan century’s largest antitrust case, and was recovered blameworthy of being a “monopolist” pinch its hunt business. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has made it clear that it wants nan institution to waste disconnected its Chrome browser. That rumor goes to proceedings adjacent week.

Thursday’s ruling will apt person a important effect connected nan advertisement tech market, not to mention connected Google’s business exemplary and structure. That being said, nan lengthy appeals process intends nan marketplace isn’t going to consciousness seismic changes anytime soon.

“Google’s integration crossed advertisement serving, exchange, and buying platforms created efficiency, but it besides constricted title and transparency,” said Julie Geller, main investigation head astatine Info-Tech Research Group. “This determination forces a person look astatine really marketplace powerfulness is exercised done vertical control.”

Decision: monopoly successful 2 of nan 3 areas

The halfway of nan lawsuit was Google’s alleged monopoly complete 3 markets successful nan advertisement tech abstraction — 1 for publishers, 1 for advertisers, and 1 that connects nan two.

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled coming that Google had a monopoly connected 2 of those markets (the patient marketplace and nan advertisement speech market), but sided pinch Google successful uncovering that location is nary abstracted advertiser marketplace for online ads. She besides ruled that nan company’s acquisition of  advertizing institution DoubleClick successful 2008 was not anticompetitive.

Google took this arsenic a partial win, pinch nan company’s VP for regulatory affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, stating: “We won half of this lawsuit and we will entreaty nan different half. The Court recovered that our advertiser devices and our acquisitions, specified arsenic DoubleClick, don’t harm competition. We disagree pinch nan Court’s determination regarding our patient tools. Publishers person galore options and they take Google because our advertisement tech devices are simple, affordable, and effective.”

Geller called nan ruling a “major inflection point” for integer advertising, arsenic it confirms that Google’s power wasn’t conscionable astir marketplace share: It was reinforced by unlawful practices for illustration tying DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) pinch Google Ad Exchange.

“Structural separation is nary longer theoretical, it’s moving forward,” she said. “For advertisers and publishers, nan implications are real.”

She pointed retired that a breakup would reshape really media is bought, really worth flows, and really spot is built crossed nan advertisement ecosystem, and potentially, hunt arsenic well.

“It’s not conscionable astir Google,” said Geller. “It’s astir whether nan integer marketplace tin germinate toward thing much open, accountable, and competitive.”

Bid to ‘restore competition’ to nan web

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and a conjugation of 8 states initially brought nan lawsuit against Google successful 2023, saying nan tech elephantine engaged successful monopolistic behavior, strategically acquiring peculiar companies and controlling nan industry’s astir celebrated devices and exchanges. The suit sought to “restore competition” to nan web.

The institution avoided a assemblage trial, alternatively going earlier a judge only successful a “bench trial,” by making a astir $2.3 cardinal costs to nan DOJ that covered a information of damages to nan plaintiffs.

The proceedings took spot past fall, pinch lawyers for nan authorities arguing that Google has been looking to monopolize power of nan advertisement network, server, and speech markets since its DoubleClick purchase. This and different moves gave Google a monopoly complete nan 3 markets successful nan advertisement tech space, nan DOJ alleged.

Google, for its part, based on that nan feds didn’t understand advertizing marketplace economics and were conscionable focusing connected a constrictive sliver of it (banner ads astatine nan apical and sides of web pages). The institution described nan manufacture arsenic “intensively competitive” and claimed that its stock successful nan marketplace has decreased moreover arsenic its revenues person increased.