The case filed by the US Department of Justice against Google (GOOGL.US) for illegal monopoly in the digital advertising industry will also go to trial.
The Smart Finance APP noticed that on Monday local time, the case filed by the US Department of Justice against Google (GOOGL.US) for illegal monopoly in the digital advertising industry will also go to trial. The US Department of Justice will attempt to prove that the company has suppressed competition in the field of online advertising technology, marking the second confrontation between the search giant and the Department of Justice.
Months ago, a US judge ruled that Google's search engine violated antitrust laws, but has not yet decided what penalties to impose on Google and its parent company Alphabet.
Prosecutors allege that Google, through selling more than 0.15 million online advertising transactions per second, has largely dominated the technological infrastructure that provides funding for website news and information streams.
This case is a significant example of US antitrust enforcement officials challenging the monopolistic behavior of large tech companies, spanning both the Trump and Biden administrations.
Prosecutors state that Google has engaged in a complex scheme to dominate website advertising tools through acquisitions, restrictions on how customers can use its tools, and allegations of manipulating ad auctions.
Google has denied these allegations, stating that they misrepresent Google's legitimate efforts to develop technology and provide services to its customers. Google argues that prosecutors overlook how the digital advertising market has shifted towards applications and connected televisions, where Google faces fierce competition.
If Judge Leonie Brinkema in the U.S. area determines that Google has violated the law, she will then consider the prosecutor's request for Google to at least sell the Google Ad Manager (GAM), including Google's publishing ad server and ad exchange platform.
According to the research by Wedbush, Google's ad technology tools contributed 20 billion dollars in 2020, accounting for 11% of the company's total revenue, with an operating profit of approximately 1 billion dollars, or 2.6%.
Wedbush's research and analysis of court documents show that in 2020, the ad management suite accounted for 4.1% of the revenue and 1.5% of the operating profit.
The most recent data has been removed from the court documents.
Google's defense team is led by partner Karen Dunn from the law firm Paul, Weiss. She has previously advised several prominent Democrats, including Vice President Harris, in debate preparation.
The government's legal team is led by senior litigator Julia Tarver Wood, who joined the Department of Justice last year. She previously worked at Paul, Weiss and represented companies such as the insurance company American International Group, Mastercard, and Amazon.
This trial, expected to last several weeks, is anticipated to feature witnesses from Google, competitors in the digital advertising sector (such as Trade Desk and Comcast), as well as publishers such as News Corp and Gannett. The prosecution claims that these publishers have been harmed by Google's actions.
This case is one of several challenging the monopolistic practices of large technology companies.
Last month, the Department of Justice won a ruling against Google's dominant position in the online search field in another case, and is separately suing apple. The Federal Trade Commission is suing Meta platform, the parent company of Facebook, and amazon.