Google found to have a monopoly in ad tech by federal judge

A federal judge ruled Alphabet-owned Google has monopolies in the online publisher ad server and ad exchange markets. 

That ruling was from U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Judge Leonie Brinkema. 

In her ruling, she said Google “has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising.” 

Logo of Google on its skyscraper in Toronto on July 29, 2024. (Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via / Getty Images)

“For over a decade, Google has tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration, which enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly powers,” part of her ruling said. “Google further entrenched its monopoly power by imposing anticompetitive policies on its customers and eliminating desirable product features.” 

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She found “exclusionary conduct” by Google “substantially harmed Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the web.” 

The federal government and 17 states that made up the plaintiffs in the case had also alleged Google had a monopoly in another ad-tech market — advertiser ad networks — but Brinkema found their arguments on that insufficient, according to the ruling. 

The decision clears the way for another hearing to determine what Google must do to restore competition in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets, such as sell off parts of its business at another trial that has yet to be scheduled. It is the second ruling that Google violated antitrust laws, following a similar judgment in a case over online search. 

A view of Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, on March 23, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via / Getty Images)

In August of last year, another federal judge found Alphabet was in breach of federal antitrust laws as it reinforced its dominant position over online searches and related advertising. A Google spokesperson told FOX Business at that time it planned to appeal that decision. 

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The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice issued a statement saying, “This is a landmark victory in the ongoing fight to stop Google from monopolizing the digital public square,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This Department of Justice will continue taking bold legal action to protect the American people from encroachments on free speech and free markets by tech companies.”

“The Court’s ruling is clear: Google is a monopolist and has abused its monopoly power,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Google’s unlawful dominance allows them to censor and…