Alphabet-owned Google will face U.S. antitrust regulators in Alexandria, Virginia, on Monday as the Justice Department seeks to prove that the company is stifling competition in online advertising technology and the giant will face raids and legal action. This is the second recent confrontation with this ministry.
Prosecutors say Google largely controls the technological infrastructure that enables news and information to flow across its websites through more than 150,000 online advertising sales per second.
The case is an important one for U.S. antitrust regulators to challenge alleged major tech monopolies under the administrations of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Prosecutors accuse Google of an elaborate plan to use purchases to gain control of websites’ advertising tools, restrict customers’ use of the tools and allegedly manipulate ad auctions.
Google denied the allegations, saying they misrepresented their legitimate efforts to develop technology and serve their customers. The company said prosecutors ignored how the digital advertising market, where Google faces fierce competition, was shifting toward apps and connected TVs.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema has asked prosecutors to force Google to sell at least its Google Ad Manager platform, which includes Google’s publisher ad server and ad exchange, if she finds that Google is violating the violated the law.
According to a study by equity analyst Wedbush, Google’s ad tech tools accounted for 11 percent of the company’s total revenue in 2020, or about $20 billion (roughly Rs. 500 million). This represents 2.6% of this year’s operating profit.
Advertising executives accounted for 4.1 percent of revenue and 1.5 percent of operating profit in 2020, according to Wedbush research and an analysis of court documents.
More recent figures were compiled from court documents.
Google’s legal team is led by Karen Dunn, a partner at law firm Paul Weiss who has led debate preparations for several prominent Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris.
The government’s legal team is led by experienced lawyer Julia Tarverwood, who joined the Justice Department last year. He previously worked at Paul, Wythe, where he represented companies such as insurance companies American International Group, MasterCard and Amazon.com.
The week-long trial is expected to include witnesses from Google, its digital advertising rivals such as Trade Desk and Comcast, and publishers such as News Corp and Gannett, which prosecutors say were harmed by Google’s actions.
The case is one of several challenging Big Tech’s alleged monopoly.
Last month, the Justice Department ruled against Google in a separate case over the company’s dominance in online search and separately sued Apple. The US Federal Trade Commission is pursuing a lawsuit against Facebook’s parent company MetaPlatform and Amazon.
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.
