All posts tagged: adtech

Google loses adtech monopoly case

Google loses adtech monopoly case

The US Department of Justice has won its antitrust case against Google, which accused the company of operating a monopoly in the advertising technology industry. “Plaintiffs have proven that Google has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitiveacts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange marketsfor open-web display advertising,“ the ruling reads. Over the course of three weeks, the DOJ argued that illegally monopolized three separate markets in the ad tech space: that for publisher ad tools, advertiser ad networks, and the ad exchanges that facilitate transactions. They also argued that Google illegally tied together their publisher ad server and ad exchange in violation of antitrust law. The upshot, according to the government, is that Google collects monopoly profits at the expense of publishers and advertisers, who have a worse experience with no real alternatives. Google, on the other hand, argued that the government’s whole view of the market was contrived and not based in reality. Google’s tools help publishers and advertisers make money, and the fact that …

EU Said to Be Unlikely to Issue Break-Up Order to Google for Now

EU antitrust officials are considering ordering Alphabet’s Google to end anti-competitive practices in its adtech business, but will not order a breakup as they had previously warned, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. European Union regulators are due to issue a decision with a hefty fine in the coming months after antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager last year threatened to break up Google’s lucrative adtech business. If this threat had been carried through in what would be a first for an antitrust case, it would have been the harshest regulatory penalty to date against Google, after Vestager charged it with favouring its own advertising services. But competition officials will likely not issue a breakup order because of the complexity involved, the people said. A break-up order could come at a later stage if Google continues its anti-competitive practices, they said, pointing to a precedent setting case involving Microsoft two decades ago. The European Commission’s decision could evolve, they added. An EU decision is unlikely to come before Vestager leaves office in November, they said, …