Google found to hold illegal monopoly in online advertising, US Judge rules

A federal judge in the United States has ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly in online advertising. This ruling is the second legal setback for Google in less than a year. Judge Leonie Brinkema made the decision on Thursday, April 17, in Virginia. She found that Google maintained dominance through unfair competition.

The court's decision focused on tools used for placing digital ads. The consequences of Google's actions will be decided in a future legal proceeding. This ruling follows an antitrust case from last August. In that case, a judge concluded that Google held a monopoly in internet search.

The latest case was filed by the U.S. government in 2023. It accused Google of violating competition laws in two out of three advertising markets. The Justice Department seeks remedies that may force Google to divest major business segments like Chrome and Android.

In response to the ruling, Google announced plans to appeal. Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google's vice president for regulatory affairs, stated their disagreement with the court's decision on publisher tools. She emphasized that publishers have many options and choose Google for its effective ad tech tools.

A trial to determine appropriate consequences is set to begin next week. Regulators continue to push for changes to address Google's dominance in the digital economy.