Today, Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that Google violated antitrust law by monopolizing two markets of the digital advertising ecosystem. The decision follows an antitrust lawsuit filed against Google in 2023 by the U.S. Department of Justice and several states. The suit claimed that Google “unlawfully monopolized” the online advertising market by buying up would-be competitors, freezing out rivals, and leveraging its market power in some markets to dominate others.
The following can be attributed to Elise Phillips, Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge:
“I am thrilled that Judge Brinkema has ruled that Google is a monopolist in the digital advertising space. This ruling is a major victory for consumer choice. The judge’s ruling confirms that Google has abused its dominant market position to rig the market in its own favor, stifling innovation and shutting out rivals. When a single company controls a significant portion of the market, consumers are short-changed. The company, in this case, Google, is no longer incentivized to improve on product quality or diversity.
“This case shines a spotlight on how Google controlled the buy and sell sides of the digital advertising market, allowing it to dictate terms and undermine rivals through self-preferencing. Google’s tying of its ad exchange to its publisher ad server reinforced its dominant market position while degrading its quality of service and depriving parties of fair prices.
“Diminished competition in digital advertising has immense ripple effects online. It doesn’t just mean higher prices and lower revenue for publishers, advertisers, and rivals – it also means less privacy, innovation, and product choice for consumers. We urge the court to adopt strong remedies that will help restore competition, prevent future abuse, and build toward a healthier, more open digital advertising ecosystem that puts consumers first.”
You may view our blog post, “The Google Ad Tech and Search Cases: How Combined Remedies Could Reshape Digital Markets,” to learn more about how these remedies could benefit consumers and the market.
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.