US COURT RULES GOOGLE VIOLATED ANTITRUST LAWS IN AD TECH MARKET

Sun 20 April 2025:

A US federal court ruled Thursday in favor of the Justice Department in its antitrust case against Google, finding the tech company unlawfully maintained monopoly power in the digital advertising market.

Judge Leonie Brinkema of the US District Court said Google engaged in “a series of anticompetitive practices” for more than a decade to dominate the publisher ad server and ad exchange products. The ruling follows a separate antitrust loss for Google in a search-related case.

“For over a decade, Google has tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration, which enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly power in these two markets,” Brinkema wrote.

“Google further entrenched its monopoly power by imposing anticompetitive policies on its customers and eliminating desirable product features,” she added.

She found the company liable under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act and noted Google’s deletion of internal employee messaging unless an employee explicitly turned on “chat history.”

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Google’s faced global antitrust scrutiny for years over its dominance in search, advertising, and mobile tech. In the U.S., a 2024 ruling found Google illegally maintained a search monopoly by paying billions to secure default status on devices, violating the Sherman Act.

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), joined by multiple states, sued Google for illegally maintaining a monopoly in search and search advertising. The core allegation: Google paid billions annually to companies like Apple and Samsung to secure default search engine status on devices and browsers (e.g., Safari).

The EU fined Google €2.4 billion in 2017 for favoring its shopping service, €4.34 billion in 2018 for Android restrictions, and €1.49 billion in 2019 for ad contract abuses.

In 2022, India’s Competition Commission fined Google ₹13.4 billion (~$160 million) for abusing Android’s dominance, similar to the EU case. Google was ordered to allow alternative app stores and remove restrictions on manufacturers. Google challenged the ruling but implemented some changes, like supporting third-party billing in the Play Store.

South Korea fined Google for Android restrictions, while Canada and Australia are investigating its ad tech and app store practices. These countries are aligning with global efforts to curb Big Tech’s power.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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