Google Faces U.S. Lawsuit That Could Force It to Scale Back Ad Activities
Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has opened a new legal front in the United States, attempting to avoid a ruling that could force it to abandon part of its advertising operations as part of an antitrust trial led by the U.S. Department of Justice and several federal states.
The case focuses on Google’s AdX advertising exchange platform, which charges a commission of nearly 20% on ads sold via instant auctions when websites are loaded. The U.S. government claims that Google has exploited its dominant position through the illegal linking of AdX with its ad server for publishers, which it argues has weakened competition in the market.
The plaintiffs are calling for the sale of AdX and the release of the auction-determining system as open-source software, asserting that only a structural separation would restore fair competition.
In response, Google has described this approach as “radical and reckless.” Its attorney, Karen Dunn, argued that these measures would harm the market instead of protecting it, suggesting instead to ease restrictions to allow publishers to more easily use competing platforms. However, U.S. authorities consider this option insufficient, warning that Google’s continued influence on the market stems from its control over essential digital advertising tools.
This case is part of a broader assault against tech giants in the United States, with companies like Meta, Amazon, and Apple also facing similar investigations. The case is of strategic importance, given that the digital advertising market, dominated by Google and Meta, generates hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
According to Grant Whitmore, an executive at Advance Local media group, Google’s current position “gives it massive opportunities to tip the balance” at the expense of publishers, adding that “only the forced sale of AdX and the ad server can rebalance the market.”
