Google sheds its nice guy poise as the legal heat dials up

Google has evolved from a fledgling search startup into a supposed puppet master of the $600 billion display ad business, according to the U.S. government’s early evidence in the ongoing ad tech antitrust trial.

That’s the conclusion observers of the current case could arrive at following a week of courtroom drama. Items showcased by the Justice Department pointed to Google’s desire to “crush” any competitors, and dissenting voices were either ridiculed or silenced. (The landmark trial began Sept. 9 and continues today in federal court).

Most tellingly, it dropped the veneer of wanting to be everyone’s friend and finally came out and basically said, ‘We’re just plain better than our competition.’ That’s at least a paraphrase of what many have inferred while observing evidence and testimony from the East Virginia courtroom — not Google’s verbatim defense.

Continue reading this article on digiday.com. Sign up for Digiday newsletters to get the latest on media, marketing and the future of TV.