The US government has filed another lawsuit against Google. According to the Justice Department, the tech giant is engaged in unfair competition, parts of Google need to be smashed.
The US government’s competition watchdog is increasing the pressure on Google with a second lawsuit. This time, they accuse the internet giant of unfair competition in the online advertising market.
In the lawsuit, published Tuesday, the US Department of Justice is seeking, among other things, the dissolution of Google’s ad technology coexistence division. Google said it used anticompetitive and illegal means to eliminate any threat to its dominance in the online advertising market.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said Google’s dominance in digital advertising is hurting customers and advertisers.
Will Google eventually hurt everyone?
According to the accusation, among other things, the Internet group acquired potential competitors at an early stage. The Justice Department criticizes that as a result of Google’s actions, website operators earn less and advertisers have to pay more. In the end, it hurts everyone.
Google countered, saying the Justice Department’s lawsuit “seeks to determine the winners and losers in the highly competitive ad technology industry.” The company said it was based on flawed reasoning that would slow innovation, increase advertising fees and make it difficult for thousands of small businesses to grow.
Target: “ad tech” market
The lawsuit focuses on the so-called “ad tech” market, specifically auction technologies, where ad slots are auctioned off as soon as possible before a website is shown to the user.
US government intervention has been on the agenda for some time. The Wall Street Journal reported last summer that Google offered the Justice Department a concession to outsource its ad technology division to a separate company. But it should remain a Google sister company under the umbrella of the Alphabet holding company, and the government’s concessions didn’t go far enough.
Google denies the allegations
In the first lawsuit in the fall of 2020, the US government accused Google of committing antitrust violations in its online search business under President Donald Trump. The group is said to have made deals with smartphone providers and network operators to give the search engine a special position. Google denies the allegations. The trial in the case is scheduled to begin this year.
Source: ZDF
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