Google Faces New Antitrust Trial Over Ad Tech Dominance

Next week, Alphabet’s Google will also go on trial for a second antitrust case, where the advertising monetisation system of the company will be challenged by the U.S Department of Justice.

The case is part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to rein in big tech using antitrust laws. The trial set to begin in Alexandria, Va., will shift the spotlight from Google’s ubiquitous search engine to its less visible advertising technology that connects website publishers with advertisers. That ad technology is crucial to Google’s advertising revenue, which totaled more than 75% of its $307.4 billion income last year.

“Google is far and away the largest seller of advertising on earth. They touch every part of the industry, if not directly, then indirectly. Everyone has an interest in Google one way or another,” said Brian Wieser, an advertising consultant and financial analyst.

The Justice Department and a group of states will contend that Google violated U.S. antitrust law in how it operates its digital advertising. How that plays out will determine whether the government sides will push U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema for a proposal to split up the company.

The antitrust regulators say that Google has monopolized the technology used for website ads by knitting together its tools for publishers and advertisers in such a way as to grant the company a “privileged position as the middleman.”

Google, for its part, denied these claims and said it is not obliged to share its advantages in technology with competitors and that its products work with those of other companies.

The Justice Department argued that Google has 91% of the market for ad servers that publishers use to sell ad space, over 85% of the market for ad networks used by advertisers, and more than 50% of the market for ad exchanges.

Google claims its market share is 30% or less when it includes social media, streaming TV, and apps. It’s saying so because the Justice Department looks at website ads and fails to consider a wider array of competition. Other companies who may be called to testify include Trade Desk and Comcast, also PubMatic. The case will also take into consideration how tech on advertising has affected news organizations with the significant closures of newspapers since 2005.

“Journalism is under threat in large part due to consolidation in the advertising market,” said Justice Department antitrust chief Jonathan Kanter, speaking in June at an event convened by the Open Markets Institute, an anti-monopoly advocacy group.

Executives currently or formerly at News Corp, the Daily Mail, and Gannett would testify against Google. Google, on the other hand, has expressed that such a breakup would reduce innovation and raise costs. Testimonies by more than two dozen current and former employees, including YouTube’s CEO Neal Mohan, will be crucial.