Google to appeal against part of US court's decision in monopoly case

 

The Google logo is seen on the Google house at CES 2024, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. January 10, 2024. 

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 Google plans to appeal against the "adverse" portion of the court decision in the U.S. Department of Justice’s monopoly case against the technology giant.

On Thursday U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema found Google liable for "willfully acquiring and maintaining monopoly power" in markets for publisher ad servers and ad exchanges.

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Publisher ad servers are platforms used by websites to store and manage their digital advertising inventory. Along with ad exchanges, the technology allows news publishers and other online content providers make money by selling advertising.

The judge also ruled that Google illegally dominates two markets for online advertising technology.

The company said on Friday that the judge had issued a mixed decision, where she ruled that the DOJ failed to show that Google’s advertiser tools or acquisitions of DoubleClick and AdMeld were anticompetitive but that Google’s publisher tools violated antitrust laws by excluding rivals.

The DOJ had said that Google should have to sell off at least its Google Ad Manager, which includes the company's publisher ad server and ad exchange.

Google has announced plans to appeal parts of a recent U.S. District Court ruling that found it guilty of anti-competitive practices in the digital advertising market. Judge Leonie Brinkema concluded that Google willfully maintained monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets, which are critical for websites and online platforms to manage and sell digital ads. However, the court found no wrongdoing in Google's advertiser tools or its past acquisitions of DoubleClick and AdMeld .

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) had advocated for Google to divest several assets, including Google Ad Manager. Google characterized the ruling as mixed and intends to challenge the adverse aspects. The company maintains that its ad tech tools are competitive and beneficial to publishers and advertisers .​

This decision adds to Google's legal challenges, including a prior verdict concerning its search engine's dominance. The DOJ is now pushing to dismantle parts of Google's ad tech business, potentially forcing the divestiture of its Ad Manager product .​

The appeals process is expected to be prolonged, potentially delaying any major operational changes for years. During this period, competitors in the digital advertising space may find new opportunities as the legal proceedings unfold .​

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