Catenaa, Monday, April 21, 2025-A federal judge ruled Friday that Google violated US antitrust laws by monopolizing key parts of the digital advertising market, marking a significant defeat for the tech giant and a win for the Department of Justice.
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema concluded that Google willfully engaged in anticompetitive conduct to dominate the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display ads.
In her decision, she found Google liable under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, though she dismissed monopoly claims tied to ad networks.
The ruling follows a similar loss for Google in its search antitrust case and raises further scrutiny of the company’s business operations. The Justice Department had argued that Google’s behavior forced publishers and advertisers to use its tools, stifled competition and allowed it to extract monopoly profits.
Google pushed back, saying the DOJ misunderstood the market and that its integrated ad tools benefit users and advertisers.
“We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, Google’s vice president of regulatory affairs.
The judge also criticized Google’s failure to preserve internal messages, calling it potentially “sanctionable,” though not necessary to the court’s conclusion.
The case now moves toward a potential remedies phase as Google faces another antitrust showdown in Washington over its search business.
