For the second time in less than a year, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on some advertising tech markets.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, wrote that Google had harmed advertisers and consumers by violating the Sherman Antitrust Act in two markets.
Related: Could Google Be Forced to Sell Chrome? The DOJ Is Reportedly Pushing For It.
“Google has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising,” Brinkema wrote in the 115-page opinion, per Bloomberg.
“In addition to depriving rivals of the ability to compete, this exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web,” the ruling continued.
The Justice Department has noted in the past that competition could “be restored” if Google would sell some of its businesses. Suggestions have included Google parting ways with its Chrome browser, which has more than 65% of the search market, or Google Ad Manager.
Related: Firefox Would Like to Remind Everyone It Exists and ‘Isn’t Backed By a Billionaire’
Brinkema also wrote that Google “further entrenched its monopoly power by imposing anticompetitive policies on its customers and eliminating desirable product features.”
Google did win part of the case, notably about its DoubleClick acquisition not harming competition.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Google’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, wrote: “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,” Mulholland continued. “We disagree with the Court’s decision regarding our publisher tools. Publishers have many options, and they choose Google because our ad tech tools are simple, affordable, and effective.”
Google is in court again next week in a separate trial on the DOJ’s request for the tech giant to sell its Chrome browser.
In August 2024, after a 10-week trial, a federal judge ruled that Google illegally monopolized the online search and search ads markets.
The judge wrote in a 286-page opinion that “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly” through actions like exclusive distribution agreements that make Google the default search engine on browsers like Apple’s Safari.
Related: Here’s Why Google Losing the Antitrust Case Matters, According to a Market Insights Expert
