The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has successfully won its antitrust case against Google, accusing the company of monopolistic practices in the advertising technology sector. The ruling states that Google's actions have "substantially harmed" both publishers and users. US District Judge Leonie Brinkema concluded that Google engaged in anticompetitive acts to maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising.
Judge Brinkema found Google liable under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, although she dismissed claims regarding a monopoly in ad networks. Google plans to appeal this decision, asserting that their tools do not harm competition and that publishers choose Google for its effective ad tech solutions.
The DOJ's case highlighted Google's monopolization of three ad tech markets and its illegal tying of publisher ad servers and exchanges, which they argue leads to monopoly profits at the expense of publishers and advertisers. In contrast, Google contended that the government's perspective on the market was flawed and that its integrated tools benefit consumers.
This ruling follows a similar antitrust loss for Google in its Search case, and it comes as the DOJ prepares for the remedies phase of that trial, where proposals include breaking up Google by divesting its Chrome browser and modifying its search results syndication.
