A U.S. federal court ruled that Google is illegally operating a monopoly in online advertising, a decision that has the power to reshape the world of ad tech — and the open internet — and paves the way for the court to potentially order a breakup of Alphabet Inc.’s ad tech products.
In its ruling, the court found Google had unlawfully monopolized two markets within the open-web display advertising technology ecosystem, in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act.
The court also found that Google violated Section 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act by tying its publisher ad server (DFP) and ad exchange (AdX) together to retain dominance.
The plaintiffs failed to prove that Google monopolized a third market — the advertiser ad network for open-web display advertising.
“For over a decade, Google has tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration, which enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly power in these two markets,” wrote Judge Leonie Brinkema, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, in the 115-page decision.
Brinkema further stated that Google “entrenched” its monopoly by “imposing anticompetitive policies on its customers and eliminating desirable product features” effectively causing harm to “Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web.”
The ruling is a long time in the making.
The Department of Justice filed its first complaint on Jan. 24, 2023, and eight states joined (a number that has since grown to 17).
The trial concluded in November 2024, and at the time, the judge indicated the decision could come out before the end of the year.
The delay, the ruling states, was due to “extensive post-trial filings.”
Now that the court has ruled that Google is liable, it will determine what the ruling calls “appropriate remedies.” In its complaint, the Justice Department requested the divestiture of Google Ad Manager, including DFP and AdX, to remedy Google’s illegal acts.
If Google is forced to make a change, it will be a victory for open internet companies and allies that believe Google holds too much power.
The ruling marks the second time in a year that Google was found to act illegally to maintain dominance.
In August, Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the tech giant had illegally maintained its monopoly in search. In that case, the DOJ is pursuing remedies that include the forced sale of Google’s Chrome browser.
The legal pressure is compounding internationally as well. Just last month, European regulators issued preliminary findings that Google Search violated the Digital Markets Act (DMA), allegedly giving itself “prominent treatment” in search results.
