The US Department of Justice (DoJ) is taking Google to court. Authorities accuse the tech giant of monopolizing the digital advertising market.
According to the DoJ, some of Google’s digital ad tools monopolize the US digital ad market, which is prohibited under competition laws. The DoJ says it wants to protect consumers, ensure competition and facilitate “economic fairness” for all.
The judicial authorities of the states of California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Virginia have joined the lawsuit filed in a federal court in the state of Virginia. Authorities are particularly troubled by the tools Google uses to match advertisers with website publishers.
Allegations
The indictment alleges that Google’s non-competitive behaviour includes buying up competitors to gain control of key digital advertising tools used by web publishers to sell ad spaces.
Furthermore, Google allegedly locks publishers in by requiring them to use the tech giant’s proprietary ad exchange to find advertisers.
In addition, Google is said to thwart competition when auctioning ads. Publishers are required to use its platform for real-time bids. The tech giant allegedly tries to block alternative auction tools from competing.
Google’s response
Commenting on the allegations, Google said it disagrees with the lawsuit. According to the tech giant, dominance is an overstatement. Google suggested the digital ad market is more competitive than the DoJ thinks. The tech giant believes US authorities are out to break its digital ad business.
According to Google, the DoJ wants to force the firm to revert the once-approved acquisitions of AdMeld and DoubleClick, two subsidiaries that reportedly play a key role in market control. Google accused the DoJ of attempting to “rewrite history at the expense of publishers, advertisers and internet users.”
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