Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia issued a ruling in a case where the US Department of Justice sued Google for alleged antitrust violations in the digital advertising market. The judge found that Google engaged in anti-competitive behavior in the Ad Exchange and Ad Server businesses, impacting advertisers and customers through various interconnected Google tools like Google Ad Manager.
However, the Department of Justice did not win on all counts, as the judge determined that Google did not engage in anti-competitive behavior in the Display Ad market. Lee-Anne Mulholland, a Google spokesperson, disagreed with the ruling and stated that the company will appeal the adverse decision in the future.
The Department of Justice’s proposal regarding the antitrust issue is for Google to divest its advertising business into a separate entity, a move that will be subject to further consideration. The technology advertising sector brought in 10% of Google’s total revenue in the past year.
This court ruling marks Google’s second loss in an antitrust case within a year, as the company previously faced antitrust charges related to search advertising in August.
TLDR: Judge rules against Google in antitrust case related to digital advertising market, requiring Google to potentially divest its advertising business into a separate entity. Google plans to appeal the decision.
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