Google: After the antitrust suit against the online search market now follows another one against online advertising

Google: After the antitrust suit against the online search market now follows another one against online advertising

San Francisco, Aug. 9, 2022

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to soon file an antitrust lawsuit against Google over its dominance in online advertising, Bloomberg reports.

It would be the second major antitrust lawsuit the DOJ has filed against Google. The agency previously sued Google in 2020 over its dominance in the online search market. That case is still ongoing.

The new lawsuit could be filed in federal court in Washington or New York as early as next month. It is expected to accuse Google of violating antitrust laws by maintaining an alleged monopoly in the digital ad market.

According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit is based on „years of work“ and discussions with publishers that are ongoing- However, Google has reportedly offered to spin off parts of its ad technology business to avoid an antitrust lawsuit from the DOJ.

The restructuring would affect Google’s advertising auction business, which sells ad space in search results and across the web to other companies. The concession would mean Google’s ad business would become a separate company under parent Alphabet.

Google said it is working with regulators to address their concerns and that it currently has no plans to abandon or sell its ad tech business.