9 more states join federal antitrust lawsuit against Google

A group of nine states, comprising Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Washington, and West Virginia, have become part of a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google. The suit contends that the search and advertising giant violated antitrust regulations while operating its digital advertising business, according to the department’s statement on Monday.

What’s happening. Initially filed in January by the government and eight states, the ad tech lawsuit has sought to compel Google to divest its ad manager suite, citing the company’s unlawful exploitation of its online advertising dominance. Google, however, has refuted these allegations and requested Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia to dismiss the case. This ad tech lawsuit comes on the heels of a separate 2020 lawsuit, filed during the Trump administration, which accused Google of breaching antitrust law in order to sustain its search supremacy. The trial for this case is scheduled for September.

Google’s history of trouble. Lawsuits have plagued Google for years.

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• Google throttled non-AMP page speeds, created format to hamper header bidding, antitrust complaint claims
• DOJ antitrust suit: Google uses contracts, market power to neutralize rivals
• French antitrust decision sets the stage for Google to pay for news content in Europe
• Justice Department homing in on Google Ad Manager in antitrust probe

Why we care. Antitrust lawsuits against Google could reshape the digital advertising ecosystem, fostering a more competitive market with fairer pricing, increased transparency, and better control over campaigns.

Additionally, the resulting changes could promote innovation, leading to new tools and strategies for reaching target audiences, and address data privacy concerns, ensuring consumer trust and legal compliance. The potential implications of these lawsuits may directly impact advertisers’ strategies, costs, and overall effectiveness of their digital campaigns.