Department of Justice (DOJ) decides to take legal action after denying Google’s most recent concessions.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Alphabet’s Google has made concessions in time to prevent a potential antitrust action from the United States, which claim that the corporation abuses its influence in the advertising technology industry. Google has an enormous market share in online ad sales, it brought in $31.7 billion in income for Alphabet in the previous year.
Are DOJ and Google planning any settlement?
Doha Mekki is the supervisor of the antitrust division. Since 2019, the division has been looking into Google’s actions in the ad-tech sector, and in 2020 it filed a lawsuit against the firm for its search methods.
According to the sources, Doha Mekki, the antitrust division’s No. 2 officer, has recently expanded the investigation into the advertising sector.
About the settlement, Mekki said, ‘You’re going to see a lot more litigation from the antitrust division. We are not planning to take settlements, as settlements suggest a compromise.’
Last week news came that Google had offered to spin out a portion of its ad-placing and auctioning operations into a separate company under Alphabet’s ownership. The plan was to move the ad sales division from Google to the parent company Alphabet.
Although that proposal appears to have been turned down, a Google spokeswoman told Bloomberg that the company has no plans to sell its tech division.
Key Takeaways
Publishers and competitors have long claimed that Google uses some of its extensive network, such as its ad exchange, to its advantage in other sectors and to undercut competitors. Now, the department of justice is investigating Google and Alphabet.
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