Google’s antitrust trial over online advertising commences in Virginia

Google’s antitrust trial commenced at a federal court in Virginia on Monday, as the US Department of Justice accused Google of establishing an ad tech monopoly that cut rivals adrift and sent publisher costs spiraling in an attempt to maximize profits. 

“No one wins – except Google”, stated DoJ lawyer Julia Tarver Wood in her opening salvo to the court, as reported by FT. 

The latest antitrust trial against Big Tech comes following the decision by a judge in Washington to rule against Google last month, finding the company had monopolized the online search market.

A decision on the punishment is expected next year, but Google denies the allegations, maintaining the position its success has been achieved thanks to its superior product.

The current trial centers around Google’s control over the system that connects advertisers with publishers. Prosecutors are adopting the position that the tech giant’s methods see it manage more than 150,000 online ad sales every second.

The DoJ outlined how Google’s cut can be 37 cents of every advertising dollar when it matches buyers and sellers, with firm control of around 90 percent of the global markets for ad servers and ad networks.

Google’s defense team, led by Karen Dunn, has asserted it does not have a monopoly but its crafted search product is simply the best in a competitive market. The response argues that Google competes “millisecond by millisecond” for every ad impression against various other companies, and it “grew the pie” for all business entities in the sector over twenty years through its innovation and achievements.

If another headline case is lost by Google and US District Judge Leonie Brinkema rules the company broke the law, she would later consider the prosecutors’ request to enforce the sell-off, of at least, Google Ad Manager, the platform that includes Google’s publisher ad server and its ad exchange.

The trial is expected to last several weeks.

Image credit: Via Ideogram

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