On April 28, a Virginia district court rejected Google’s request to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice regarding the company’s advertising business.
The lawsuit, which was filed in January, claims that Google has monopolized online advertising sales by acquiring competing providers and making it challenging for consumers to use other services. It argues that Google cannot own both the search engine and the mechanism for purchasing ads on that search engine, reported Reuters.
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The suit was filed by state attorneys from multiple states, including California, New York, Colorado, and Connecticut.
During the case, Google’s attorney argued that their business does not meet the government’s definition of a monopoly due to their ad business falling below the 70% market share benchmark. Additionally, the attorney mentioned other successful social media platforms such as Facebook and Tiktok as viable alternatives for advertisers.
Dan Taylor, Google’s vice president of global ads, released a statement after the ruling, saying the lawsuit “would slow innovation, raise advertising fees, and make it harder for thousands of small businesses and publishers to grow.”
