Publishers’ Google ad-tech antitrust claims clear a major legal hurdle

Google will have to keep defending key antitrust claims brought by Gannett, Daily Mail and a class of digital publishers after a federal judge rejected much of the company’s attempt to end the litigation before trial.

What happened. U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel issued an 88-page opinion Sept. 30 denying Google’s requests for summary judgment on the publishers’ principal claims involving its ad-tech business. The judge also declined to exclude key expert testimony supporting their damages arguments.

The case. Publishers allege Google’s control over its publisher ad server and AdX exchange, along with practices governing ad auctions, reduced publisher revenue or resulted in excessive fees. Google has contested the publishers’ claims.

Why we care. The decision keeps alive publishers’ efforts to recover potentially billions of dollars they allege were lost because of Google’s conduct in the digital advertising market.

By the numbers. Experts retained by the plaintiffs estimated roughly $901 million in damages for Gannett and $600 million for Daily Mail. An expert for the publisher class estimated $1.72 billion in class-wide damages through March 31, 2024, with the plaintiffs claiming additional damages since then.

Important. Those numbers are estimates from the publishers’ experts, not damages awarded by the court. Publishers still need to establish the injury and damages attributable to the conduct at issue.

The backdrop. The cases build partly on findings from the U.S. government’s separate ad-tech antitrust litigation against Google in Virginia. Castel previously determined that Google could not relitigate certain findings from that case, including the finding that Google unlawfully tied its publisher ad server to its AdX exchange.

Yes, but. The ruling wasn’t a complete win for publishers. Castel ruled for Google on Gannett and Daily Mail’s New York General Business Law claims, as well as claims brought by The Progressive and federal antitrust claims from Inform. Claims involving the AdX publisher class and Mikula Web Solutions were allowed to continue.

What publishers are saying. News/Media Alliance CEO Danielle Coffey called the decision a vindication for the publishing industry and said it advances years of efforts to challenge Google’s position in ad tech.

The bigger picture. The case puts another part of Google’s advertising business under legal pressure, with publishers seeking compensation for alleged harm tied directly to the infrastructure used to monetize their websites.

The bottom line. The ruling doesn’t determine what Google ultimately owes or whether publishers will recover damages at all. But it keeps some of their most consequential antitrust claims alive and preserves their path toward seeking substantial compensation.

Dig deeper. Publishers clear major hurdle in Google ad-tech antitrust fight