Google lost another huge antitrust case, while the search giant is still facing another antitrust-related trial later this month. On top of that, the company just received a termination order from Japan’s Fair Trade Commission, which received a fine in 2024 by the EU’s antitrust fine.
Thursday, federal judge rule Google violated antitrust laws and illegally monopolizes the online advertising technology industry. In 2023, Google made $237.9 billion from advertising revenue, far exceeding competitors such as Microsoft and Baidu. In this case, the Justice Department and 17 states sued Google together.
The ruling states: “The plaintiff has demonstrated that Google is deliberately engaged in a series of anti-competitive activities to acquire and maintain monopoly capabilities in publisher advertising servers and advertising trading markets for access to open display advertising.”
The U.S. Department of Justice will likely force Alphabet-owned search companies to sell their Google Ad Manager, including its publisher ad servers and advertising exchanges, after the ruling of U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema. The Justice Department has recommended such action before the court’s ruling.
Mixable light speed
In a three-week trial, the Justice Department argued that Google monopolizes the industry by buying competitors and locking in its publishers and advertisers using its products. Google believes it offers customers a more affordable solution than its more expensive competitors.
Google connects publishers and advertisers to online advertising technology accounts for about 12% of Alphabet’s business. Spinning Google Ad Manager won’t have much impact on the company, as search companies’ revenues come from ads offered on their own platforms, such as Google Search and YouTube. In fact, Google had previously considered selling part of its advertising technology business due to EU antitrust regulations, because Reuters Reported last year.
This marks the second time Google has lost a major antitrust case in less than a year.
In August 2024, a US judge ruled Google violation Antitrust law and its agreement with Apple, which allows search giants to pay $20 billion in iPhone manufacturers annually in exchange for Google Search as the default search product on iOS.
Later this month, trials will be conducted to determine what needs to be done due to this antitrust trial. The Ministry of Justice has Respected Google sells its web browser, Google Chrome. The Justice Department also advises that if this does not compensate Google’s monopoly on the industry, Google may have to sell its mobile operating system Android.
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